Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 578 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 192,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $13,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.8 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $80.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $73.89 and a 200 day moving average of $65.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $268.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $47.47 and a one year high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.