Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,712 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $83.32. The company had a trading volume of 11,237,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,377,113. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.47. The company has a market cap of $271.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $83.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.33.

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.