Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 39,896 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 39,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,802,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Spinnaker Trust raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $972,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its position 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $72.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.82. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The stock has a market cap of $237.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.73.

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.