Kahn Brothers Group Inc. Sells 6,609 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Kahn Brothers Group Inc. cut its stake in Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,609 shares during the quarter. Webster Financial accounts for about 0.6% of Kahn Brothers Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Kahn Brothers Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Webster Financial worth $4,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WBS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Webster Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,679,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $799,122,000 after acquiring an additional 116,092 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 2.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,498,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $689,800,000 after buying an additional 362,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Webster Financial by 18.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,297,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $521,886,000 after buying an additional 1,433,204 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Webster Financial by 9.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,904,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,587,000 after purchasing an additional 707,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Webster Financial by 2.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,277,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,468,000 after buying an additional 120,649 shares in the last quarter. 86.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Webster Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:WBS opened at $39.89 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.79 and its 200 day moving average is $39.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Webster Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.03 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.06. Webster Financial had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $677.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $686.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Webster Financial’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Webster Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WBS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $53.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Webster Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking. The Commercial Banking segment provides commercial real estate and equipment financing, business banking, asset-based lending, and commercial services; public sector finance; mortgage warehouse financing; treasury management services; credit, deposit, and cash flow management services; and wealth management solutions to business owners and operators, including trust, asset management, financial planning, insurance, retirement, and investment products, as well as derivative, treasury, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and trade products and services.