Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.1%, now owning approximately 0.67% of the company with 21,649,108 shares valued at $1.55 billion.
• Wells Fargo has recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share from $0.40, which reflects a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Analysts have upgraded Wells Fargo's rating to a "moderate buy" with a consensus price target raised to $80.39, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock's future performance.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,649,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 696,094 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.67% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $1,554,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 106,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,490,000 after purchasing an additional 3,055 shares during the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 887.8% during the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 317,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,306,000 after purchasing an additional 285,425 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $77.78. The stock had a trading volume of 14,121,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,813,622. The firm has a market cap of $249.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 1.20 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's 50 day moving average is $78.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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 27.40%.

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.