Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.

Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,193.1% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 140,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,724,000 after buying an additional 129,261 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 11,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 134.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 436,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,835,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WFC. StockNews.com upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.52.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 6.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $3.62 on Friday, hitting $56.54. 52,886,661 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,430,355. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55. The company has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.48 and its 200 day moving average is $55.78.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

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.