Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,338 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 2.1 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $55.10 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.38 and a one year high of $62.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $192.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

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.