Simmons Bank Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Simmons Bank decreased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 180.4% during the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded up $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.07. The company had a trading volume of 11,885,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,859,338. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $57.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.53. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 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 cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.