Moore Capital Management LP Invests $54.53 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Moore Capital Management LP bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 776,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $54,525,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 0.6% of Moore Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.17. 14,064,080 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,548,645. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.35. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WFC. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

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.