DRW Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC has increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4%, owning 110,750 shares valued at approximately $7.95 million.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.2%.
• Wells Fargo's earnings per share for the latest quarter were $1.54, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.41.

DRW Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 0.2% of DRW Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Motco increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first 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. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $82.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.31 and a 200-day moving average of $74.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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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