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

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $70.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WBS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Webster Financial from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. TD Cowen began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.67.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock opened at $59.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.67 and a 200 day moving average of $54.52. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $39.43 and a 12 month high of $63.99. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 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 analyst estimates of $716.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jason A. Soto sold 2,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.21, for a total value of $153,025.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,195.69. This trade represents a 11.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William L. Atwell sold 16,823 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $995,921.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,915 shares in the company, valued at $1,830,168. This represents a 35.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 36,445 shares of company stock worth $2,168,537. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Webster Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $93,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 8,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Webster Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 72,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

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.