HFG Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

HFG Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 397 shares during the quarter. HFG Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the 4th 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 period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% in the 4th 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,237,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,770,000 after purchasing an additional 526,178 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,941,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $932,352,000 after purchasing an additional 596,521 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Argus boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. HSBC boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.15.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $60.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,889,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,482,270. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $38.38 and a 52 week high of $62.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.15.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 29.23%.

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.