Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Position Lessened by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,186,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,155 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $85,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.46. 14,886,562 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,476,173. The firm has a market cap of $245.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $70.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 2.12%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.68.

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.