Metis Global Partners LLC Has $12.87 Million Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,245 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.2% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 38,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,224,000 after buying an additional 13,393 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $86.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $11.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

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.