Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Cohen Investment Advisors LLC

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 2.0% of Cohen Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 128.6% in the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 100,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,240,000 after purchasing an additional 56,737 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 55,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the period. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,926,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $353,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,181 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 26,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.33.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:WFC opened at $83.32 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $83.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $75.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.35.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

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.