Associated Banc Corp Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Associated Banc Corp decreased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,059 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $70.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $233.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.39.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.