Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 95,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,491 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $56.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $196.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.88. 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 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 for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.29.

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.