Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 410.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 67,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after buying an additional 54,262 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,967,000. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 97,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,000,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 121,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 46,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Odeon Capital Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.80 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.31.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $57.61 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.27 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The stock has a market cap of $203.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.94.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.30). Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.40% and a net margin of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.05%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.