Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo by 27.5%, now owning 55,885 shares worth approximately $4.48 million.
• Wells Fargo has reported a quarterly EPS of $1.54, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.41, with revenue of $20.82 billion.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, up from $0.40, marking an annualized dividend of $1.80 with a yield of 2.2%.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 27.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,167 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 27,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 11,547 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 41,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRA Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 3,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.74.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE WFC opened at $80.63 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $55.98 and a one year high of $86.65. The company's 50 day moving average price is $80.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 30.82%.

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.

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