Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $1.59 Million Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $3,549,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,253,000 after buying an additional 38,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 79,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,800 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.84, for a total value of $86,112.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,029,373.28. This represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,017 shares of company stock valued at $1,326,280 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Webster Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:WBS traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $48.07. 397,826 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,036. 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 Co. has a one year low of $39.34 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 posted $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WBS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.73.

Webster Financial Company 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.