V Square Quantitative Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,607 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $688,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,690,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,227,000 after buying an additional 433,292 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 8,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.71. The stock had a trading volume of 6,264,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,084,592. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $38.38 and a 52 week high of $62.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.13. The company has a market capitalization of $187.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.91.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.