Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,670 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 0.5% of Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $22,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,967,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $834,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $2,802,000. Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $45,581,000. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 28,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $73.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.