Tufton Capital Management Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Tufton Capital Management cut its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,055 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Financial Corp IN lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 4,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership now owns 14,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 1,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 3.2 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.00. 9,009,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,551,832. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.40 and a fifty-two week high of $59.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.61. The company has a market cap of $208.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.19.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.