Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Holdings Raised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,497,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 128,207 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 0.4% of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.63% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $1,471,259,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% during the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $79.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.00. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced 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 repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. 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. 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 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

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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