Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 21,673 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,673 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 0.5% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,319,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,459,000 after purchasing an additional 263,176 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 25,218,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,231,000 after purchasing an additional 781,772 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,905,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,690,000 after buying an additional 25,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after buying an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $51.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.90. The stock has a market cap of $175.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.38 and a one year 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.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

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.