Utah Retirement Systems Sells 27,200 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Utah Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 552,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,200 shares during the quarter. Utah Retirement Systems' holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $38,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $71.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.64 and a 200-day moving average of $71.68. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50. The stock has a market cap of $232.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.34.

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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