Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Position Trimmed by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 855,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $60,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Income Research & Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.7 %

WFC stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.41. 9,160,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,245,643. The company has a market capitalization of $261.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $47.45 and a twelve month high of $78.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.38.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.