Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Gen Wealth Partners Inc

Gen Wealth Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 241.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 721,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,692,000 after purchasing an additional 28,314 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,522,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 17,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 163,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,410,000 after buying an additional 2,608 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $72.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The firm has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & 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.