Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by Eldred Rock Partners LLC

Eldred Rock Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 136,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,358 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 2.4% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Eldred Rock Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 54,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,544 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 105.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares in the last quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wilsey Asset Management Inc. now owns 524,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,307,000 after purchasing an additional 9,717 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 871,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,983,000 after purchasing an additional 28,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $87.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.90 and a 200-day moving average of $83.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $263.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.