Boston Partners Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Boston Partners boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 523,107 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 0.8% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Boston Partners owned 0.28% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $640,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Motco grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.4%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The company has a market capitalization of $254.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WFC. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.

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