Maverick Capital Ltd. Buys 8,708 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 121.3% during the 1st quarter, now owning 15,889 shares valued at approximately $819,000.
• Insider transactions included significant sales, with James Mi Griffin selling 807 shares and Director William L. Atwell offloading 16,823 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective positions by 6.04% and 35.24%.
• Webster Financial Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.60 and a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 121.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,708 shares during the quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 327.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 118.4% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 171.2% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, insider James Mi Griffin sold 2,065 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.56, for a total transaction of $125,056.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,263.28. This represents a 13.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total value of $196,007.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,755 shares in the company, valued at $950,184.05. This trade represents a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,445 shares of company stock worth $1,983,757 in the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE WBS traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.03. 1,209,966 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,332. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Webster Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $39.43 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $59.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.49.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Webster Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Webster Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.77.

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.