245,564 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 245,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,293,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $4,512,563,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $859,431,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $729,502,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $620,861,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.11 and its 200-day moving average is $82.79.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.