3,596,968 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Acquired by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,596,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $297,253,000. Wells Fargo & Company comprises approximately 0.6% of Korea Investment CORP’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 7,368 shares during the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. 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 50-day simple moving average of $86.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.79. The company has a market capitalization 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 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 firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus 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.