AIA Group Ltd Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,575 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 916,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,104,000 after buying an additional 7,729 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 34,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 15,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 2,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 332,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $59.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $209.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $36.40 and a 52-week high of $59.26.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.85.

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.