Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys New Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 313,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,922,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 16,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average is $86.08 and its 200-day moving average is $82.97.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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