Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $52.14 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Advisors Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 742,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,298 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 0.8% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $52,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $1.48 on Thursday, reaching $65.46. The stock had a trading volume of 11,248,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,587,182. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $213.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

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.