Rhumbline Advisers Trims Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,073,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 121,080 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $436,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,369,000 after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. NatWest Group plc boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,115,000 after acquiring an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.2%

WFC traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.47. 7,968,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,448,611. 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 current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $70.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

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

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Royal Bank of Canada raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.48.

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.