WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• WCG Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) by 8.4%, now holding 43,651 shares valued at $3,134,000, following a sale of 3,984 shares.
• Wells Fargo announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share, a rise from the previous $0.40, reflecting a positive $1.80 annualized payout with a yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on WFC, with Raymond James downgrading from "strong-buy" to "market perform," while others maintain a "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target price of $81.58.

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,984 shares during the period. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $79.0680 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $253.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.88. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

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.

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