Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lessened its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 41.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,943 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,623,044,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,197,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,560,755,000 after purchasing an additional 129,300 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,237,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,770,000 after purchasing an additional 526,178 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,941,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $932,352,000 after purchasing an additional 596,521 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,269,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,484,000 after purchasing an additional 335,560 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.21. 9,913,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,097,602. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $209.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.40.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Fourteen 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & 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.