S&G Foundation Takes $20.93 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

S&G Foundation purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 253,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,934,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 1.0% of S&G Foundation’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. 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 stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.79.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

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.