Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,191 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,424,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 301,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,837 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 25,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,116,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.1% in the second quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE WFC opened at $88.74 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $85.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo declared quarterly cash dividends on six series of preferred stock. The announcement provides clarity for income-focused investors and signals that the bank continues to support its preferred-capital structure. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis suggests WFC could be about 10% undervalued despite strong gains over the past three months, supporting the view that valuation may still leave room for additional appreciation. Wells Fargo Could Be 10% Undervalued After Preferred Dividend Declaration
• Positive Sentiment: Investors have been rotating from weaker-performing artificial-intelligence stocks into financials, creating a favorable sector backdrop for Wells Fargo and other banks. Risk-On Momentum in Bank Stocks Echoes Aftermath of Dot-Com Bust
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s latest earnings exceeded expectations, with $1.96 in earnings per share and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 8.6% year over year. Analysts continue to focus on potential net-interest-income growth, asset-cap removal and increased capital returns. WFC Stock Gains 20.5% in 3 Months: Buy, Hold or Sell the Stock Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is expanding its post-asset-cap strategy through tokenized deposits for corporate clients and new long-term debt and depositary-share offerings. The initiatives could improve payment capabilities and investment capacity, but their financial impact remains uncertain. Is Wells Fargo’s Tokenized Deposit Push Reshaping Its Post-Cap Investment Story?
• Negative Sentiment: After a roughly 20% three-month advance, valuation and profit-taking risks could limit near-term upside, making investors more sensitive to execution on growth and regulatory milestones. Why Is Wells Fargo Up Since Last Earnings Report?

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.