Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Busey Bank

Busey Bank lowered its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 724 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Vicus Capital raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.8% during the second quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 7,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.6% during the second quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 11,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 309.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 42,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 31,941 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.4% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Investment House LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the second quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 4,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock traded up $0.66 on Thursday, hitting $56.12. 4,240,599 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,945,252. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55. The stock has a market cap of $195.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.59 and a 200-day moving average of $57.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.63.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.