Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,226,000 after buying an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 103.7% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,833,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,477 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% in the first quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,152 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $84,819,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $56.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $196.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.88.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The company’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

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.