XML Financial LLC Sells 3,388 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• XML Financial LLC sold 3,388 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, reducing its holdings by 20.7% to 12,971 shares valued at approximately $1,039,000.
• Wells Fargo has recently seen several institutional investors increase their stakes, with significant acquisitions noted by Brighton Jones LLC and Merit Financial Group LLC.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.1%, up from the previous dividend of $0.40.

XML Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 20.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,388 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.0% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 105,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,572,000 after purchasing an additional 9,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 324,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,266,000 after purchasing an additional 13,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.74.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $54.40 and a 52 week high of $86.65. The firm's 50 day moving average is $80.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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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