Ascent Group LLC Has $3.95 Million Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,193 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Theleme Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $187,049,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $117,280,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,999,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,441,146. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.88. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.73.

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.