Aviso Wealth Management Sells 4,165 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Aviso Wealth Management reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.7% during the first quarter, now holding 24,113 shares valued at $1,731,000.
• Wells Fargo & Company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting a 2.3% yield.
• Analysts have offered mixed ratings on the stock, with an average price target of $80.39 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Aviso Wealth Management decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,165 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 0.9% of Aviso Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Aviso Wealth Management's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after buying an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after buying an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $77.80 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $78.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.94. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $84.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $253.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Barclays cut 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 note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.