Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Vaughan David Investments LLC IL

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 98.9% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 24,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 12,394 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth about $3,060,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 378.5% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,198,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,493,000 after buying an additional 948,422 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 55.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 744,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,148,000 after acquiring an additional 267,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.6% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 96,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,607,000 after acquiring an additional 7,655 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WFC. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Thirteen 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.31.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $59.46. The company had a trading volume of 10,776,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,346,979. The stock has a market cap of $207.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.39. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

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.