Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 76,201 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,504,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,201 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $492,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 356,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $63.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.15.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.72. The company had a trading volume of 801,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,324,486. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.22. The company has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.23%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.