Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys 43,650 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 229.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,650 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.17.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.22. The stock had a trading volume of 20,609,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,990,602. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.60 and its 200-day moving average is $63.33. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $78.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $257.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.