Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Sells 2,800 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 43.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,656,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $248.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.50 and its 200-day moving average is $72.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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 business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.