Point72 Asset Management L.P. Cuts Stock Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 163,982 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.71% of Webster Financial worth $67,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBS. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,007,000 after acquiring an additional 99,908 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Webster Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,601,000 after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000,000 after purchasing an additional 35,039 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $174,173,000 after purchasing an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,948,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $162,828,000 after purchasing an additional 114,375 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $86,112.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $605,516. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WBS. Truist Financial started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 target price on shares of Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.75.

Webster Financial Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:WBS traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.53. 675,994 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,256,012. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $48.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

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.