Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,327,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,593,162 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $439,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,516,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,184,000 after acquiring an additional 156,636 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Webster Financial by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,246,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $330,207,000 after purchasing an additional 713,294 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Webster Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,177,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,058,000 after purchasing an additional 16,676 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $142,035,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,211,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,209,000 after purchasing an additional 141,762 shares during the period. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WBS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE WBS opened at $75.38 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $74.25 and its 200 day moving average is $71.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $52.69 and a 12 month high of $77.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.04. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $764.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $735.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is presently 26.19%.

Webster Financial Company Profile

Webster Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Waterbury, Connecticut. Through its principal subsidiary, Webster Bank, N.A., the company offers a broad range of banking products and financial services to individuals, small businesses, and middle-market commercial clients. Key offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, treasury management, and payment processing solutions.

In addition to traditional banking services, Webster Financial provides wealth management and insurance products designed to help clients plan for retirement, preserve assets, and manage risk.