Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 894.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 373,865 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $39,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.7%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $254.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.30 and a 1-year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WFC. HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.53.

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.