Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 636,823 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,338,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 636,823 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 1.1% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $115,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. First National Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 38,832 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 14,289 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $652,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,657,442 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $180,019,000 after buying an additional 203,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 42,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,077,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of WFC traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.08. The stock had a trading volume of 15,795,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,543,062. The company has a market cap of $212.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $38.38 and a 52 week high of $62.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.72 and a 200 day moving average of $51.78.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. HSBC increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $62.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.