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

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 28,735 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,497,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,975,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,114,000 after acquiring an additional 129,675 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Webster Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,507,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,253,000 after purchasing an additional 38,713 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 759.8% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 823,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,462,000 after acquiring an additional 727,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WBS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada set a $60.00 price target on Webster Financial and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.73.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS stock opened at $47.50 on Monday. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business's fifty day moving average is $49.50 and its 200 day moving average is $54.45.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The company had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.46 million. Research analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

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.

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