Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 437.6%, acquiring over 1 million additional shares, raising its stake to 1.4% of its portfolio.
• Wells Fargo announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45, with a current annualized yield of 2.1%.
• Analysts have given Wells Fargo a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $89.57, reflecting confidence in the stock's performance.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 437.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,312,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,068,040 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 1.4% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $105,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2,735,254.3% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 949,769,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $76,095,550,000 after purchasing an additional 949,735,001 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,497,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,471,259,000 after purchasing an additional 128,207 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,371,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $830,990,000 after acquiring an additional 542,493 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,616,000 after acquiring an additional 523,107 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE WFC opened at $85.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.19. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $58.42 and a 12 month high of $87.47. The company has a market capitalization of $275.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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 presently 29.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.57.

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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