Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.7%, owning 28,162 shares worth approximately $1.99 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Wells Fargo recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 30.82%.
• Several analysts have upgraded their price targets for Wells Fargo shares, with Bank of America raising its target from $83 to $90 and Morgan Stanley from $77 to $87.

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,127,000 after buying an additional 4,748 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 118,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,293,000 after buying an additional 39,635 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,068,000. Finally, Voya Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. 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 report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. 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, Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.6%

WFC stock opened at $79.0680 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83. The company's 50 day moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.96. The stock has a market cap of $253.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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.

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