Means Investment CO. Inc. Raises Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Means Investment CO. Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $2,623,044,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,308,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677,050 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 103.7% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,833,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,684,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951,477 shares during the period. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% in the first quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,536,152 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:WFC traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $56.45. 12,779,360 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,092,148. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.68 and a 200 day moving average of $57.21. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.63.

Wells Fargo & 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.