Forum Financial Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $83.95. The company has a market capitalization of $260.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & 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.