Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Holdings Lowered by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,589,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,621,696 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 2.7% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned about 1.28% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $2,985,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 79,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,693,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 4,823 shares in the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.6% in the 1st quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 519,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,306,000 after buying an additional 202,078 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $79.41 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The company has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

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.