Equity Investment Corp Reduces Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Equity Investment Corp decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,538,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,209 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 3.9% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $150,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 32.6% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 9,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares in the last quarter. Nelson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $319,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.6% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 167,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,949,000 after acquiring an additional 13,313 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.3% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 565.2% during the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 2,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 4.0 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $51.58 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $38.38 and a 12-month high of $62.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.74 and a 200 day moving average of $57.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a boost 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 3.10%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.