Brookmont Capital Management Has $4.97 Million Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Brookmont Capital Management reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.9%, currently holding approximately $4.97 million worth of shares which represent 2.8% of its total holdings.
• Wells Fargo recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45, up from $0.40, demonstrating a 2.3% yield and reflecting a payout ratio of 30.82%.
• Analysts have expressed a generally positive outlook on Wells Fargo, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and varying price targets, including an upgrade from Morgan Stanley from $77 to $87.

Brookmont Capital Management lowered its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,462 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 2.8% of Brookmont Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Brookmont Capital Management's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Motco raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded up $0.73 on Friday, reaching $77.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,121,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,813,622. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The company has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.