Davis Asset Management L.P. Invests $27.93 Million in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 337,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,930,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at about $658,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,673,000 after buying an additional 14,168 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,446,000 after acquiring an additional 17,302 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Finally, Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $86.11 and its 200 day moving average is $82.79.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its 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 return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.