Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 23,135 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 478,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,135 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $38,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WFC. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. KGI Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.50.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $86.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.51. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $264.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

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.