Prudential PLC Sells 49,313 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC sold 49,313 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, reducing its holdings by 47.7% in the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 54,086 shares valued at $3,883,000.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, representing an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have set a target price consensus of $80.39 for Wells Fargo, with a majority rating the stock as a Moderate Buy.

Prudential PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 49,313 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 27,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,908,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Finer Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $2.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.09. 15,374,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,525,808. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $79.21 and its 200 day moving average is $74.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.22 and a one year high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

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.