33,402 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies purchased 33,402 Wells Fargo shares during the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.66 million. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.9% of the company.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly EPS of $1.96, beating estimates of $1.73, while revenue rose 8.6% year over year to $22.62 billion.
• The bank increased its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $2.00 and a 2.3% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $98.61.

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,659,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.0%

WFC stock opened at $87.25 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.03. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $263.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, KGI Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.

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