Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Given New $60.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $60.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $80.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.92.

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Webster Financial Price Performance

WBS traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $43.41. 1,431,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,254. Webster Financial has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $63.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $52.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.44.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $661.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $687.53 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Webster Financial will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total transaction of $780,728.19. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Webster Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,007,000 after purchasing an additional 99,908 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Webster Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,601,000 after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000,000 after purchasing an additional 35,039 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,173,000 after purchasing an additional 116,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 54,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

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.