Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,504,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,910 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $87,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. 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. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.31.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded down $0.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.46. 10,776,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,346,979. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $207.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.