Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 122,326 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,855,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 122,326 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.06% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $133,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $74.74 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $243.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.16 and a 200 day moving average of $72.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors 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 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.