Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,515 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Defender Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $246,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $124,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $222,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 273,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,274,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 24.5% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 9,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $57.13 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $36.27 and a twelve month high of $58.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.92 and a 200-day moving average of $47.54. The firm has a market cap of $202.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.19.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.30). Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.80 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.68.

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.