Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 1,593,162 Shares of Webster Financial Corporation $WBS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its position in Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 20.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 owned approximately 3.90% of Webster Financial worth $439,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WBS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the fourth quarter worth $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its position in Webster Financial by 7,442.8% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $120,838,000 after buying an additional 2,005,985 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Webster Financial during the first quarter valued at $109,754,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 221.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,483,000 after buying an additional 1,077,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $56,253,000. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $69.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.96.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Webster Financial stock opened at $75.38 on Tuesday. Webster Financial Corporation has a one year low of $52.69 and a one year high of $77.69. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.25 and its 200 day moving average is $71.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.95%.Webster Financial's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.57 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.

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