Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Bought by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 39.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 240,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,186 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Motco grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $81.69 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.02. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 30.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.56.

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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