Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 133,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,376 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 3,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch & Associates IN lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 6,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $77.74 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.63 and its 200 day moving average is $76.53. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $58.42 and a 1 year high of $86.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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 business 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 company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.41.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.