Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Trimmed by NBW Capital LLC

Key Points

• NBW Capital LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 24.2%, owning 80,067 shares after selling 25,609 shares in the first quarter.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, representing a dividend yield of 2.3%.
• Wells Fargo's stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $80.39, following recent analyst upgrades.

NBW Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 24.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,067 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,609 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 1.3% of NBW Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. NBW Capital LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $70,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,642 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of 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. 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. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,121,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,813,622. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $78.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.95. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The company has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.