Point72 Asset Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,222,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 163,982 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.71% of Webster Financial worth $67,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 297,834 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,883,000 after buying an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,628 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 498,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,525,000 after purchasing an additional 23,328 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WBS traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $52.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,026,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,817. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.34 and a fifty-two week high of $63.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.35. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $704.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. Webster Financial's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $700.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total value of $59,964.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,015,240.49. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock valued at $1,386,244. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WBS. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on Webster Financial and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.58.

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.