Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Takes $1.10 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Longfellow Investment Management has invested $1.10 million in Wells Fargo, acquiring 15,380 shares in the first quarter, which indicates growing institutional interest in the company.
• Wells Fargo has announced a $40 billion stock repurchase plan, suggesting management believes the stock is undervalued, and reported a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45.
• The company posted earnings of $1.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,104,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Motco lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of WFC traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $79.41. The stock had a trading volume of 16,049,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,416,262. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

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.