Gradient Investments LLC Grows Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 180,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,744 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $87.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.90 and a 200 day moving average of $83.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & 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.