OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 5,595 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 17.3%, now holding 26,826 shares valued at approximately $1.93 million.
• Analyst ratings for Wells Fargo show a mixed outlook, with one sell rating, eight hold ratings, and eleven buy ratings, and an average target price of $80.39.
• Wells Fargo announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing a yield of 2.3%.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,595 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Motco grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of WFC stock traded down $1.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $76.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,031,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,462,965. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.93. The company has a market cap of $248.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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.