25,961 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Purchased by WealthShield Partners LLC

WealthShield Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 25,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,145,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.79. The stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.