Vivid Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Vivid Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $1,656,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,343,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $73.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-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. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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

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.