Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 72,420 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 47.8%, holding 79,053 shares valued at approximately $5.68 million after selling 72,420 shares.
• Wells Fargo reported $1.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the analysts' expectations of $1.41, while its revenue was approximately $20.82 billion.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.40, with a current dividend yield of 2.3%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 47.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 72,420 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $77.95. 15,762,543 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,101,620. The firm has a market cap of $253.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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