Picton Mahoney Asset Management Grows Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 405.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 359,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 288,566 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $25,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Motco raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WFC shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $83.03 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $270.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.72. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share 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%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.