CWA Asset Management Group LLC Raises Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,537 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $72.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.77 and a 200 day moving average of $72.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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