Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 884,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,341 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $63,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 37.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 22,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.55. 12,577,498 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,267,940. The company has a market cap of $268.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $83.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict 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 program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.13.

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.