Poehling Capital Management INC. Sells 1,127 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Poehling Capital Management INC. lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 143,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,127 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 2.5% of Poehling Capital Management INC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Poehling Capital Management INC.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $73.20 on Thursday. 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 $238.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.69.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.73.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.