Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $9.37 Million Holdings in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 352.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 214,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 167,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $9,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Salzhauer Michael grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 39,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the second quarter valued at about $4,470,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 28.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,687,000 after buying an additional 1,206,575 shares during the last quarter. Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $4,423,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Webster Financial from $56.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $58.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.36.

Webster Financial Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $46.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $36.36 and a fifty-two week high of $53.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.28.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.08). Webster Financial had a net margin of 19.81% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $671.91 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is currently 32.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total transaction of $245,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,215,853.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Webster Financial news, insider Charles L. Wilkins sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total value of $245,350.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,157 shares in the company, valued at $2,215,853.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jason A. Soto sold 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.32, for a total transaction of $76,428.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $951,366.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,650 shares of company stock valued at $706,098 in the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.