Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,199 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $49,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Northbridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $917,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 93,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,744,000 after acquiring an additional 23,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 61,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping management visible to investors and potentially reinforcing the bank’s strategy and outlook. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May from 34 in April, a sign that homebuilder sentiment is improving and could support loan demand in the housing market. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other banks moved up league tables after helping arrange NextEra Energy’s $67 billion deal for Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking activity. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Wells Fargo’s preferred shares offer a discounted yield opportunity with interest-rate optionality, which is more of an investor commentary piece than a direct company catalyst. Wells Fargo Long Duration Preferred: Safe Yield, Discount To Par, And Interest Rate Optionality
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement over lending and hiring discrimination claims, including a $100 million borrower-assistance fund, which may weigh on sentiment despite removing legal uncertainty. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. KGI Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.03 and its 200 day moving average is $85.46. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.