Courier Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Courier Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 912 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $76.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The stock has a market cap of $248.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

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.