Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 739,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,441 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $43,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 7,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 564.2% during the second quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 10,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 9,050 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 37,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $250,000. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 581.1% in the second quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 39,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after purchasing an additional 33,701 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC traded down $2.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.00. 21,853,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,798,791. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55. The company has a market cap of $188.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.