JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its position in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 449,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,057 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.26% of Webster Financial worth $20,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WBS. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 11,639 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Webster Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 19,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $893,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Webster Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Webster Financial by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 6,155 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WBS shares. StockNews.com cut Webster Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stephens set a $58.00 price objective on Webster Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.46.

Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of WBS traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.30. 789,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,464. Webster Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $57.85 and a 200-day moving average of $50.41. The stock has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.80% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $647.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $677.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Webster Financial

In other Webster Financial news, insider Daniel Bley sold 3,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.10, for a total transaction of $180,422.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,529 shares in the company, valued at $1,017,460.90. This represents a 15.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark Pettie sold 4,500 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.14, for a total value of $230,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,676,369.20. This trade represents a 12.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock worth $2,105,322 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.