Burney Co. Reduces Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Burney Co. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,284 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Point Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $207,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.0% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 258,834 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,000,000 after acquiring an additional 23,494 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,924,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 11,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC traded down $3.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 27,642,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,512,784. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $185.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.81.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.91.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.