Madison Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 57.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,884 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 266,398 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,125,000 after buying an additional 97,031 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Efficient Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.25. The company had a trading volume of 14,071,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,653,194. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.59. The company has a market cap of $274.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $84.83.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

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.