Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,700 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% in the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,343,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,783,000 after buying an additional 70,104 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 83,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,837,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 30.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,926,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $353,668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152,181 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $82.55. The stock had a trading volume of 12,577,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,408,797. The stock has a market cap of $268.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $83.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $76.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.78. 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 (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.98.

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.