Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WFC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC remained flat at $59.94 during mid-day trading on Monday. 11,714,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,868,557. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $37.18 and a 12-month high of $61.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.63 and its 200 day moving average is $50.35.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.23%.

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.