Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Has $6 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Woodward Diversified Capital LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 7.7%, owning 74,837 shares valued at approximately $6 million, making it the firm's sixth largest holding.
• Institutional investors hold around 75.90% of Wells Fargo's stock, with multiple funds increasing their stakes during the second quarter, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, up from $0.40, reflecting a 2.2% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 30.82%.

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lowered its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,217 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 3.0% of Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 7,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 11,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $245,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.74.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $80.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $259.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $54.40 and a 1 year high of $86.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.15.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

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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