OFI Invest Asset Management Acquires Shares of 494,458 Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management acquired 494,458 shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter, valued at approximately $39.6 million.
• Wells Fargo recently reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS), beating analysts' estimates, alongside a dividend increase to $0.45 per share.
• The stock is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy"** by analysts, with a consensus target price of $85.41.

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 494,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $39,616,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFC. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Motco grew 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 buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $77.74 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.53. The firm has a market cap of $249.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $58.42 and a 1 year high of $86.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.41.

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.

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