FIL Ltd Sells 207,197 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

FIL Ltd cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,582,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 207,197 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 0.15% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $274,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 356,620 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $57.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $200.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.10. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.