Keel Point LLC Reduces Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Keel Point LLC cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 42.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,370 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after buying an additional 7,368 shares during the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 8,714 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $86.60 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. KGI Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.