Savant Capital LLC Acquires 6,075 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,075 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after buying an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,183,000 after buying an additional 162,066 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,284,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,983,000 after buying an additional 575,892 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after buying an additional 5,237,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,529,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $263.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $47.59 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.51.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Compass Point upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.