Diversified Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Diversified Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 70.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,521 shares during the quarter. Diversified Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,487,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,484 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,975,600,000 after purchasing an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,922,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,663,000 after purchasing an additional 6,944,316 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 WFC opened at $87.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $264.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.04.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.