Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 19,692 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,692 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $16,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 108.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WFC opened at $57.18 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.61. The company has a market cap of $202.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.19. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $36.40 and a one year high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 29.23%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.