Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Position Trimmed by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,199 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 410.5% during the third quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 67,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 54,262 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% in the third 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 period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 61.7% in the third 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 period. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,499,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2,174.3% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 21,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 20,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of WFC traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $61.24. 13,577,873 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,829,303. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $213.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.86 and its 200-day moving average is $50.62. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $37.18 and a 52 week high of $61.76.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.