Equity Investment Corp Trims Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Equity Investment Corp lowered its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,914,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 479,198 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 3.1% of Equity Investment Corp's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned 0.06% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $137,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $79.69. 16,376,917 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,411,602. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $83.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 12.33%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.