Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by BTC Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• BTC Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1%, holding 154,523 shares worth approximately $12.38 million after the sale.
• Multiple large investors, including Brighton Jones LLC, have recently increased their stakes in Wells Fargo, indicating a trend among institutional investors.
• Wells Fargo announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45, marking a 12.5% rise from the previous $0.40 dividend, with a current payout ratio of 30.82%.

BTC Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,007 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 1.0% of BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 393.9% during the 2nd quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 37,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 29,733 shares during the period. Capital Advantage Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.3% during the second quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. now owns 8,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,399 shares during the period. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,645,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. BDF Gestion acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,006,000. Finally, Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 41.3% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 27,526 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 8,045 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. 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. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE WFC traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.61. 36,444,763 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,401,850. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $53.31 and a twelve month high of $84.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $80.44 and its 200-day moving average is $75.40. 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 posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & 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.