Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Position Reduced by Concentric Capital Strategies LP

Concentric Capital Strategies LP reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 79.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,394 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $117,026,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 144.3% during the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $149,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.1 %

WFC stock opened at $73.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, 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, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.