Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target Lowered to $68.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $64.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn cut Webster Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cowen assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Webster Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.67.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of WBS opened at $59.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.52. Webster Financial has a one year low of $39.43 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Webster Financial’s payout ratio is 32.45%.

Insider Activity at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, CAO Elzbieta Cieslik sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $123,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 14,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,172.52. The trade was a 11.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.95, for a total value of $463,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 239,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,900,582.40. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Webster Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 327.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 118.4% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 3,628.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 43.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.