Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.9%, lowering its holdings to 68,304 shares, valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Wells Fargo's board has initiated a $40 billion stock repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 17.2% of its shares, signaling a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company also increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing a yield of 2.3%, with the next payment scheduled for September 1st.

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,896 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 2.4% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $1,408,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 11,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 14,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 3,626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:WFC traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.96. The stock had a trading volume of 14,409,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,622,731. The company has a market capitalization of $249.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

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.