Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Sells 23,025 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC has reduced its holding in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 62.5%, now owning 13,804 shares worth approximately $991,000.
• Wells Fargo recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.
• TD Cowen initiated coverage with a "hold" rating on Wells Fargo with a price target of $83.00, amidst mixed analyst ratings for the stock.

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 62.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,025 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $77.02. The company had a trading volume of 13,105,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,875,784. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

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.