Davis Asset Management L.P. Invests $27.93 Million in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 337,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,930,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $859,431,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $729,502,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $620,861,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.79. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

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.