Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 53,450 Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 53,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,417,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760,484 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after purchasing an additional 188,186 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,922,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $1,364,923,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $83.83 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.97. The stock has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

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.