Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% during the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 356,620 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.44. 521,061 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,199,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $203.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.74. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $62.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.