Beacon Financial Group Sells 6,011 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Beacon Financial Group reduced its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,011 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 0.7% of Beacon Financial Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Beacon Financial Group's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of WFC stock traded up $1.48 on Friday, hitting $76.38. 10,983,712 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,502,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

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

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.