Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Trims Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lowered its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 60.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 269,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 414,225 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $18,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $383,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $519,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $53,976,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $73.14. 14,308,889 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,539,646. The company has a market capitalization of $238.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $69.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.00.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.34.

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.