272,055 Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group reduced its Wells Fargo stake by 4.2%, selling 272,055 shares and retaining 6.15 million shares worth approximately $491.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 75.9% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Wells Fargo carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $98.11, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly earnings of $1.87 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue reached $21.87 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 2.4% annualized yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,145,097 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 272,055 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.20% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $491,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $859,431,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $729,502,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $620,861,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. HSBC began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.50 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.11.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 17.64%. The company had revenue of $21.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.21%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and financial management services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, credit cards, payments, treasury management, and other banking products.

The company also provides wealth and investment management services, including financial planning, brokerage, advisory, and private banking solutions.

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