Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,311 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & accounts for about 2.0% of Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & were worth $8,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & by 117.6% in the fourth quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Alexandria Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & by 0.3% in the first quarter. Alexandria Capital LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Brick & Kyle Associates increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & by 9.5% in the first quarter. Brick & Kyle Associates now owns 1,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & during the first quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & by 58.6% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.85% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) opened at 52.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $260.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.95. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $43.55 and a 52 week high of $59.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.11.
Wells Fargo & (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.23 billion. Wells Fargo & had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 23.25%. Wells Fargo &’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post $4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo &’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Wells Fargo &’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.42%.
Wells Fargo & declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to repurchase $11.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Instinet dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Vetr raised Wells Fargo & from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $57.21 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods set a $62.00 price objective on Wells Fargo & and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & in a research report on Monday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Wells Fargo & presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.87.
In other news, insider Petros G. Pelos sold 24,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.07, for a total value of $1,335,961.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael J. Loughlin sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.16, for a total value of $1,043,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 131,278 shares of company stock worth $6,940,120 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wells Fargo & Company Profile
Wells Fargo & Company is a bank holding company. The Company is a diversified financial services company. It has three operating segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management. The Company offers its services under three categories: personal, small business and commercial.
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