Hantz Financial Services Inc. Purchases 88,036 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2,510.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,036 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,725,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,578,079. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $47.45 and a 1-year high of $79.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.