California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,933,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,944 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $341,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 356,620 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.3 %

WFC traded up $0.77 on Monday, reaching $61.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,751,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,013,531. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $216.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.19. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.40 and a fifty-two week high of $61.49.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.85.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.