Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Kessler Investment Group LLC

Kessler Investment Group LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5,965.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 79,218 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 2.8% of Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Kessler Investment Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $198,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $79.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $258.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company 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 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.98.

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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