Fiduciary Family Office LLC Invests $2.80 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Fiduciary Family Office LLC invested approximately $2.80 million in Wells Fargo, acquiring 38,948 shares, making it the firm's 13th largest holding.
• Analysts have mixed views on Wells Fargo, with Goldman Sachs lowering its price target to $91.00 while Morgan Stanley raised it to $87.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Wells Fargo recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share and a stock buyback program authorizing $40.00 billion in repurchases.

Fiduciary Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 38,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,796,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 0.9% of Fiduciary Family Office LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,350,605 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $198,801,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.9%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.78 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.22 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.

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