Great Lakes Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,312,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 121,537 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 1.2% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $137,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 26,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 12,778 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 128,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,343,000 after purchasing an additional 6,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $2.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.00. 21,853,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,798,791. The stock has a market cap of $188.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.88.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.29.

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.