California State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,773,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 189,749 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $380,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WFC. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.50.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE WFC opened at $86.86 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $265.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.30.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.