Morningstar Investment Services LLC Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Morningstar Investment Services LLC cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 52.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 92,733 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 1.1% of Morningstar Investment Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Morningstar Investment Services LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WFC traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.64. 21,202,185 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,458,807. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $83.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.18. The firm has a market cap of $262.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.