Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Position Decreased by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $72.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.93. The firm has a market cap of $235.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.