Prudential PLC Reduces Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,679 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 7.2 %

WFC stock opened at $60.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.44. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $198.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.50.

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.