Morgan Stanley Raises Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $64.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $64.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a market perform rating and set a $62.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup restated a neutral rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $56.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,079,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,593,412. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.44. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $36.40 and a one year high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $201.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.19.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,623,044,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,197,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,560,755,000 after acquiring an additional 129,300 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,319,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,295,459,000 after acquiring an additional 263,176 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,085,410,000 after acquiring an additional 26,267,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 25,640,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,262,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,118,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.