ARGA Investment Management LP Acquires 167,896 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 893.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 167,896 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $859,431,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $729,502,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $620,861,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. HSBC started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $108.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.11.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

WFC opened at $85.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $256.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $84.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.64.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 17.64%. The firm had revenue of $21.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.21%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and financial management services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, credit cards, payments, treasury management, and other banking products.

The company also provides wealth and investment management services, including financial planning, brokerage, advisory, and private banking solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.