Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 3,446 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,446 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% during the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 356,620 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.24. 16,268,222 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,899,662. The stock has a market cap of $210.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.62. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Compass Point restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Fourteen 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.