Weaver Consulting Group Acquires 3,270 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Weaver Consulting Group grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 61.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Weaver Consulting Group’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% during the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 97,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,000,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 121,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after acquiring an additional 46,525 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Slagle Financial LLC now owns 138,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,822,000 after purchasing an additional 68,356 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 35,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $2,499,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock traded up $1.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,074,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,610,088. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.04.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.15.

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.