Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Raised by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Spinnaker Trust increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted 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. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $64.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $209.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.92 and a 200-day moving average of $71.32. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.