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

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WFC. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Thirteen equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $59.91.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $56.88 on Tuesday. The firm 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 twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.77. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm 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%. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.