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MUFG Securities EMEA plc Buys 410,960 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

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Key Points

  • MUFG Securities EMEA plc sharply increased its Wells Fargo stake by 587% in the fourth quarter, buying 410,960 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 480,976 shares worth about $44.8 million.
  • Institutional ownership in Wells Fargo remains high, with 75.9% of the stock held by institutions and several other funds also modestly adding to their positions.
  • Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: analysts currently rate Wells Fargo Moderate Buy on average, with a consensus price target of $97.53, while management is also signaling stronger Q2 fee-income and investment banking/trading growth.
  • MarketBeat previews the top five stocks to own by June 1st.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 587.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 480,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 410,960 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $44,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. HSBC raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Wells Fargo & Company

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $77.46 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $79.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.91. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.93 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

(Free Report)

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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