Tufton Capital Management Sells 8,055 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Tufton Capital Management trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,055 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% during the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 356,620 shares during the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 3.2 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $59.00. 9,009,180 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,551,832. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $36.40 and a 12 month high of $59.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.04 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.23%.

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.