Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 650 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. SNS Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 8,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 14,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Cordant Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $139,000. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.91.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $3.62 on Friday, hitting $53.26. 27,624,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,182,338. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.77.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.