EdgeRock Capital LLC Invests $327,000 in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• EdgeRock Capital LLC has invested approximately $327,000 in Wells Fargo & Company, acquiring 4,083 shares in the financial services provider.
• Wells Fargo's stock has been rated mostly as a "Moderate Buy"** by analysts, with ten analysts giving a Buy rating and seven a Hold rating, suggesting a general confidence in the company's outlook.
• The company has increased its dividend to $0.45 per share, up from $0.40, reflecting a positive change in its financial policies.

EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2,735,254.3% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 949,769,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,095,550,000 after acquiring an additional 949,735,001 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after buying an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $109,643,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,307,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,016,000 after buying an additional 1,365,629 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.97.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $84.31 on Friday. 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 $53.31 and a 12 month high of $86.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.74.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

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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