Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Sells 3,621 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. decreased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,621 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $75.42 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $245.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.