Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 42,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 888 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BetterWealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $233,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Denver Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Denver Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 46,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,234,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $77.99 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.23. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $47.45 and a 12-month high of $78.30. The stock has a market cap of $259.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.39.

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.