Kahn Brothers Group Inc. Acquires 11,059 Shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS)

Kahn Brothers Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Webster Financial Co. (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,059 shares during the period. Webster Financial accounts for approximately 0.4% of Kahn Brothers Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Kahn Brothers Group Inc.'s holdings in Webster Financial were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Webster Financial during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Webster Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Webster Financial by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Webster Financial by 742.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.58% of the company's stock.

Webster Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WBS opened at $49.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Webster Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $39.34 and a twelve month high of $63.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $48.09 and its 200-day moving average is $54.29. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.98.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $704.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Webster Financial Co. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Webster Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $700.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Webster Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Webster Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel Bley sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.97, for a total value of $59,964.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,317 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,240.49. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total value of $459,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. The trade was a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,217 shares of company stock worth $1,386,244 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Webster Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Webster Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.73.

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.

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