HF Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 60,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,252 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.6% of HF Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after buying an additional 1,760,484 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after buying an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after buying an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,310,663,000 after buying an additional 6,944,316 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE WFC opened at $87.25 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $263.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.06.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.