Independence Bank of Kentucky Trims Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 49.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,490 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 356,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.39. The stock had a trading volume of 31,074,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,610,088. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.15.

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.