Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,813,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 275,435 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 1.0% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $127,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in 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. 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 Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WFC opened at $76.21 on Monday. 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 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm's fifty day moving average is $69.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.59. The stock has a market cap of $248.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.73.

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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