Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Increases Position

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 543,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,303 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $43,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,923,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,310,663,000 after buying an additional 6,944,316 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $859,431,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $729,502,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $85.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $256.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 14.05% and a net margin of 17.64%. The firm had revenue of $21.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.11.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and financial management services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include deposit accounts, residential and commercial lending, credit cards, payments, treasury management, and other banking products.

The company also provides wealth and investment management services, including financial planning, brokerage, advisory, and private banking solutions.