Morgan Stanley Boosts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $68.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

WFC has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $64.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $59.91.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $56.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $59.01 and a 200 day moving average of $56.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.