LJI Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

LJI Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. LJI Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% in the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at $408,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,783,000 after purchasing an additional 70,104 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,926,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.13.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $82.55 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.88. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $83.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $268.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.