Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 45,310 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 3.86% of Webster Financial worth $365,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 742.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,988.56. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,063,228.93. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WBS. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Webster Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.92.

Webster Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

WBS opened at $45.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.74 and a 200 day moving average of $54.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $39.34 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 18.39%. The firm had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

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.

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