Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,369,000 after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.1 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $64.03 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.92 and its 200-day moving average is $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $209.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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.