First National Advisers LLC Sells 8,988 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC has reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 12.4%, owning 63,500 shares valued at approximately $4.56 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Wells Fargo reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.54, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.41, and had a revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a buyback plan to repurchase up to $40 billion in shares, representing about 17.2% of its total shares, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

First National Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,988 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC traded down $0.75 on Thursday, reaching $81.03. 7,813,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,557,170. The firm has a market cap of $263.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.16. 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 has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend 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.