Coastwise Capital Group LLC Trims Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 56.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,854 shares during the quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 62,099 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $80.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $83.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.21. The firm has a market cap of $262.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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