River Road Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 96,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,752,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $25,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 585.5% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 112.9% during the second quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $85.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.79. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $58.42 and a 52 week high of $88.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.22.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.18. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The firm had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.57.

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.