Sweeney & Michel LLC Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Sweeney & Michel LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 22,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 0.7% of Sweeney & Michel LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Thursday, reaching $74.65. The company had a trading volume of 8,319,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,449,912. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.94. The company has a market cap of $242.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.48.

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.