Occidental Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Occidental Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,049,693,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,085,410,000 after purchasing an additional 26,267,166 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,478.6% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,390,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,609,000 after purchasing an additional 7,859,100 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $345,861,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 15,661,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $646,671,000 after purchasing an additional 4,382,639 shares in the last quarter. 72.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $43.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $158.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.42. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $35.25 and a one year high of $48.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.18% and a return on equity of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 35.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Atlantic Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $52.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.39.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a diversified financial services company, provides banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.