Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 4,848 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,898 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after buying an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% in the 1st quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,853,000 after buying an additional 1,536,152 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth $84,819,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,411,000 after buying an additional 1,415,647 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $60.99 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.58 and a 1 year high of $62.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $55.39 and its 200 day moving average is $57.79. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.25. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.07.

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.