Appleton Partners Inc. MA Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% during the first quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 6,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 10,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC traded down $3.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.26. 27,642,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,512,784. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.87 and its 200-day moving average is $56.88. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The firm has a market cap of $185.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WFC. StockNews.com upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, May 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.91.

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.