Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Sells 304,705 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 733,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 304,705 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $51,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock traded down $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $75.50. The stock had a trading volume of 15,295,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,539,904. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.35.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.73.

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.