Shufro Rose & Co. LLC Invests $711,000 in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Shufro Rose & Co. LLC invested approximately $711,000 in Wells Fargo, acquiring 9,906 shares of the company in the 1st quarter.
• Wells Fargo's Board of Directors has initiated a $40 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation.
• The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.45, reflecting a 2.2% yield and marking a rise from the previous $0.40 dividend.

Shufro Rose & Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,846,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,904,000 after purchasing an additional 626,791 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 168.2% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 30,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 18,896 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 80,928 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,496 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $80.63 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average is $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $262.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

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.

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