Plato Investment Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7%, now holding 71,572 shares valued at approximately $5.19 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, reflecting a 2.2% yield.
• The stock is rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $82.56, and has experienced a 52-week trading range between $50.22 and $84.83.

Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,354 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Nwam LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 4,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Phillip Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $80.71 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $258.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $80.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

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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