Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,770 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the second quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% during the second quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 5,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the second quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $56.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.58 and a 1 year high of $62.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.41.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.