Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Bought by Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 51.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Slagle Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 138,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 68,356 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 35,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,499,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.2% in the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 38,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 152,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,805,000 after buying an additional 21,496 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.39. The stock had a trading volume of 12,538,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,486,272. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.31.

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.