JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Target Price to $63.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $65.00 to $63.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

WBS has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an overweight rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $51.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $56.23.

Webster Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WBS opened at $45.02 on Wednesday. Webster Financial has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $53.39. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.88 and its 200-day moving average is $46.48.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). Webster Financial had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $667.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.72 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 89,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,132.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Christopher J. Motl sold 10,475 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $548,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,317,234.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Luis Massiani sold 13,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.63, for a total value of $697,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 89,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,627,132.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,975 shares of company stock worth $1,341,095. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 22.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,258,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,587,000 after buying an additional 1,339,862 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,916,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $198,785,000 after buying an additional 430,331 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,732,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,165,000 after buying an additional 48,445 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 8.4% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,394,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,540,000 after buying an additional 184,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,520,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.