Webster Financial Corporation $WBS Shares Sold by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) by 75.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 409,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,243,364 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $28,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WBS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $142,035,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 7,442.8% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,032,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005,985 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the first quarter worth about $109,754,000. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the third quarter valued at about $75,465,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 221.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,565,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077,819 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $69.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Webster Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $79.00 to $77.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.96.

Webster Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $76.63 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.95. Webster Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.69 and a fifty-two week high of $76.77. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.04. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 22.95%.The company had revenue of $764.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $735.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Webster Financial Corporation will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.