Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 31,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 70,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 8,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.7 %

WFC traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.35. 34,334,317 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,430,011. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $36.40 and a 12-month high of $60.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $55.88 and a 200 day moving average of $48.82. The firm has a market cap of $213.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.19. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.80 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.