Wright Investors Service Inc. Trims Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 48.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,421 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,591,000 after acquiring an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,411,000 after buying an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,035,000 after buying an additional 48,419 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.96. The company had a trading volume of 14,594,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,007,127. The firm has a market cap of $198.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $55.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.76. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $38.58 and a 52 week high of $62.55.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.41.

Wells Fargo & 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.