EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 34,281 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,281 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $73.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $69.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

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.

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