Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Optas LLC

Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 104.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,548 shares during the period. Optas LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $72.31 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $235.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a PEG 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company 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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