Capital Advantage Inc. Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Capital Advantage Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,284,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,983,000 after purchasing an additional 575,892 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 48,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after buying an additional 7,791 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 16,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 33,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,347,000 after buying an additional 9,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $355,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $73.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $240.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.34.

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.