Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,050,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,244,000 after buying an additional 41,421 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 112,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,080,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares during the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $840,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 76,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,525,000 after buying an additional 9,275 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.4%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 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.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.39.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.