Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Purchases 22,759 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 51.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 66,766 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,759 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WFC. Phillip Securities raised 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 objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $78.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.91. The company has a market cap of $254.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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