Focus Financial Network Inc. Increases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.1% during the first quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 6,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% during the first quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 23.1% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 21,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Finally, Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $1,059,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $75.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $70.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $245.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s 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 year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.