Salzhauer Michael Grows Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Salzhauer Michael raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 52.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 70,200 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 5.8% of Salzhauer Michael’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Salzhauer Michael’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 7,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WFC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $79.08 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.96. The stock has a market cap of $257.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.