Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in Webster Financial Corporation by 137.2%, owning 128,139 shares worth approximately $6.61 million.
• Webster Financial reported strong earnings, with an EPS of $1.52 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.5%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend rate of $1.60 and a yield of 2.6%.

Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 137.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 74,112 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.08% of Webster Financial worth $6,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WBS. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1,253.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,120,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,085 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,547,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,658,000 after purchasing an additional 766,019 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,177,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,108,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,408,000 after purchasing an additional 487,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,603,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the sale, the director owned 30,915 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,830,168. This trade represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $153,025.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,195.69. The trade was a 11.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,445 shares of company stock worth $2,250,007. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.77.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Webster Financial stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $62.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 400,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,058. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.81 and a 200-day moving average of $53.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Webster Financial Profile

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.