Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 37,601 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC cut its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 487,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,601 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.3% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $34,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WT Wealth Management bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $235,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 23.0% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 77,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,477,000 after purchasing an additional 14,405 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 59.0% during the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 64,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,597,000 after acquiring an additional 23,753 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 27.3% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 4,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 3,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.73. The company had a trading volume of 939,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,396,196. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $83.95. The company's fifty day moving average is $77.14 and its 200-day moving average is $74.24. The company has a market capitalization of $262.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.

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