FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Buys 11,742 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 229.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,742 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.7% during the second quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 3,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Lynch & Associates IN raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the second quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 6,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.3% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.8%

WFC stock opened at $85.01 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $272.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $54.40 and a 12 month high of $86.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.84 and its 200 day moving average is $75.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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 research note on Wednesday, June 4th. 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 research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.97.

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.