Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $4.98 Million Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 901.0% in the first quarter, owning 69,332 shares valued at nearly $5 million.
• Wells Fargo reported a quarterly EPS of $1.54, exceeding analysts' expectations, and is planning to distribute a dividend increase to shareholders, raising it to $0.45 per share.
• Research firms are optimistic about Wells Fargo's stock, with a significant number of analysts giving it a "Moderate Buy" rating and an average price target of $81.58.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 901.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 62,406 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Motco grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of WFC stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $80.51. 11,173,017 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,728,267. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $80.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

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.