JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Stock Price

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $67.00 to $65.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on WBS. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group started coverage on Webster Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Stephens set a $58.00 target price on Webster Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Webster Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $57.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.46.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded down $0.80 on Tuesday, reaching $55.16. 959,073 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 924,493. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.66 and a 200 day moving average of $50.24. Webster Financial has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Webster Financial's payout ratio is currently 36.28%.

Insider Transactions at Webster Financial

In other news, insider Javier L. Evans sold 10,137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.41, for a total value of $581,965.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,300,738.37. This trade represents a 30.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Albert Jen-Wen Wang sold 4,000 shares of Webster Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.43, for a total value of $209,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $748,333.39. This represents a 21.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,250 shares of company stock valued at $2,105,322. Insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,229,000 after buying an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,522,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,687,000 after buying an additional 1,206,575 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,086,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $134,524,000 after purchasing an additional 13,487 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Webster Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,969,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,465,000 after buying an additional 54,613 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,640,425 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,096,000 after acquiring an additional 301,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.