NorthRock Partners LLC Has $5.25 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 182.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,254 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,369,000 after purchasing an additional 30,510 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. NatWest Group plc boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,115,000 after acquiring an additional 63,102 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.5%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $75.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.32. The company has a market cap of $247.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.