Optas LLC Sells 6,151 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Optas LLC trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 47.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,151 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.74 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.44. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $57.07 and a 1 year high of $86.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.41.

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.