Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Bought by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,343,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,783,000 after buying an additional 70,104 shares during the period. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 130,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,167,000 after acquiring an additional 5,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,150,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $80,818,000 after acquiring an additional 122,899 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.33.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.37. 15,187,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,335,197. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.21. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $82.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $268.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.