Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 10,118 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ancora Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 35.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,118 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Fruth Investment Management boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% during the first quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 6,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 10,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 6,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.52.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $59.34 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $38.38 and a 52-week high of $62.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.77. The company has a market capitalization of $206.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.