Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Position Reduced by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,437 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $20,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,369,000 after acquiring an additional 30,510 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,115,000 after acquiring an additional 63,102 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $62.77. The stock had a trading volume of 9,961,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,569,025. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $72.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.97. The company has a market cap of $204.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.13.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.