Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Invests $2.94 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 41,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,943,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.33.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.32. 11,237,287 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,377,113. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $83.95. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $75.34 and a 200-day moving average of $73.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

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.