Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,416,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 181,114 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $84,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.8 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $196.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

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.