Yacktman Asset Management LP Sells 903,324 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Yacktman Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 85.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 159,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 903,324 shares during the quarter. Yacktman Asset Management LP's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,783,000 after acquiring an additional 70,104 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 83,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,837,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.55. 12,577,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,411,040. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.41 and its 200-day moving average is $73.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $83.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% 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 announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.13.

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.