Ascent Group LLC Sells 10,760 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 25%, selling 10,760 shares, and now holds 32,269 shares valued at approximately $2.585 million.
• Wells Fargo reported a quarterly EPS of $1.54, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.13, while its revenue increased by 0.6% year-over-year to $20.82 billion.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 30.82%.

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,760 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 3,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 6,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $80.63 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $80.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.31. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $55.98 and a one year high of $86.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.74.

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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