Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.