Traynor Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,049,693,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 129,312.1% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,287,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,085,410,000 after buying an additional 26,267,166 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,478.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 8,390,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $406,609,000 after buying an additional 7,859,100 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $345,861,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4,238.0% in the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 4,284,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $428,490,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186,124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.96. 14,618,982 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,896,764. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $36.27 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.01. The company has a market capitalization of $205.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.30). Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.60% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.72 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 Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (up previously from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.85.

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.