AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial Corporation by 229.9% in Q1, owning roughly 0.29% of the company, valued at $24.73 million.
• Webster Financial's stock has seen positive analyst rating changes, with firms like Wells Fargo and Barclays raising their price targets to as high as $77.00 and maintaining an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.52 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing a 16.5% year-over-year revenue growth.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 229.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 487,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 339,950 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Webster Financial worth $24,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Webster Financial by 699.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 137,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,100,000 after acquiring an additional 120,516 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Webster Financial by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,028 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Webster Financial by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 15,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 8,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Webster Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In related news, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 35.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 3,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.31, for a total value of $196,007.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $950,184.05. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,445 shares of company stock worth $1,983,757 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WBS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WBS traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.44. 1,363,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,075,292. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.65. Webster Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.07.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.09. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.06%.The company had revenue of $715.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $716.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Webster Financial's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Corporation will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is presently 32.45%.

Webster Financial Company 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.