EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $20.29 Million in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 245,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,293,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Services raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 16,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.11 and a 200-day moving average of $82.79. The stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

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.