Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 40,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1,253.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,120,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,897,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,085 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,547,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,658,000 after acquiring an additional 766,019 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,177,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,464,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,334,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $128,890,000 after acquiring an additional 449,583 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.2%

WBS stock opened at $58.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.00. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $715.80 million for 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 business’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $266,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,679,185.50. This trade represents a 13.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,838 shares of company stock valued at $2,318,109. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WBS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $61.00) on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.