Buffington Mohr McNeal Acquires 3,809 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Buffington Mohr McNeal lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 39,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 87.5% in the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 5,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.1% in the first quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Defender Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $521,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.4% in the first quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 7,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2%

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $83.32. 11,237,287 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,353,350. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $83.94. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $74.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.27.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.33.

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.