Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 137,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,233 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $8,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in 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 period. McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in 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 period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in 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 period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% in 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 period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% in 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 period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $56.70. The stock had a trading volume of 17,074,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,010,037. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.48. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $38.38 and a 12-month high of $62.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $197.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.63.

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.