Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 44.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,113,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 341,793 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $80,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $272.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

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

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.