Portfolio Design Labs LLC Takes $2.39 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,386,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,512,563,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth approximately $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth approximately $859,431,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $729,502,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $620,861,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $84.70 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $256.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.