Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $25,000. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $276,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,339,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,961,000 after acquiring an additional 660,800 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, Creekside Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth approximately $566,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.6 %

WFC opened at $54.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.76. 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 $191.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.