Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,504,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,201 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $492,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 10,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 4,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 6,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.72. The stock had a trading volume of 801,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,324,486. 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 stock has a market cap of $211.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.38 and a one year high of $62.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.22.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.15.

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.