Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,812,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 189,399 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.70% of Webster Financial worth $464,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 206,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,293,000 after acquiring an additional 14,935 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 19.7% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 8,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 195.3% during the 3rd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 32,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 21,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,500,000. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WBS. Jefferies Financial Group set a $75.00 price target on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lowered shares of Webster Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Webster Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $75.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Webster Financial stock opened at $70.12 on Thursday. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $39.43 and a fifty-two week high of $74.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.55.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.07. Webster Financial had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $760.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 27.07%.

Webster Financial 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.