709,008 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Bought by Manning & Napier Advisors LLC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 709,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $42,108,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.91.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $52.76. The stock had a trading volume of 11,200,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,196,924. The company has a market capitalization of $183.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 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 quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. 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 3.03%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

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.