First Western Trust Bank Has $333,000 Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

First Western Trust Bank reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $198,801,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WFC opened at $77.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.92 and its 200 day moving average is $74.97. The company has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & 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.