WINTON GROUP Ltd Invests $16.26 Million in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 196,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,259,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 0.5% of WINTON GROUP Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Charlie Scharf said “now is the time” to pursue deals, signaling that Wells Fargo may be willing to accelerate acquisitions or other strategic transactions. Investors could view this as a constructive sign that management sees attractive opportunities to deploy capital and expand the business. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf on dealmaking: Now is the time to get it done
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo CFO Mike Santomassimo is scheduled to present at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference on September 15. The event could provide updates on loan demand, net interest income, capital allocation and expense management, but no new financial information was disclosed in the announcement. Wells Fargo to Present at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference
• Negative Sentiment: A market report noted that WFC recently fell more than the broader market, closing at $87.96 in the referenced session. The report did not identify a new company-specific problem, suggesting the weakness was more likely tied to market or financial-sector factors than a change in Wells Fargo’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market: Important Facts to Note

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $89.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.66. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to consumers, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, personal lending, commercial financing, and treasury management services.

The company operates through businesses that include consumer and small-business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.