First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 3,054 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

First Financial Bank Trust Division decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,054 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $55.30 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.78. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $192.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.38 and a one year high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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 business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.41.

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.