Natixis Advisors LLC Has $15.30 Million Stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 8.6%, now owning 296,796 shares valued at approximately $15.3 million.
• Webster Financial is implementing a $700 million stock repurchase program, signaling confidence that its shares are undervalued.
• The company recently reported $1.52 earnings per share for the latest quarter, beating estimates and reflecting a 16.5% year-over-year revenue increase.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 296,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,529 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.18% of Webster Financial worth $15,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Webster Financial by 118.4% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 171.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other news, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total transaction of $196,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $950,184.05. This represents a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total value of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 13,363 shares in the company, valued at $809,263.28. This represents a 13.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $2,258,145. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $56.37. 491,579 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,317,539. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.45. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a net margin of 20.06% and a return on equity of 10.84%. The company had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $716.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WBS shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.77.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.