Parkwood LLC Takes $9.78 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Parkwood LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo, purchasing 136,290 shares valued at approximately $9.78 million in the first quarter.
• The company has increased its dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, resulting in a 2.3% dividend yield for shareholders.
• Wells Fargo's latest earnings report showed $1.54 EPS, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.6%.

Parkwood LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 136,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,784,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Motco increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in 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 shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE WFC traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.98. 20,656,880 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,669,898. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The stock has a market cap of $253.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & 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.