Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,311 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Pension Service increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $383,532,000 after acquiring an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $375,183,000 after purchasing an additional 162,066 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,284,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $441,983,000 after purchasing an additional 575,892 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $160,529,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of WFC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.22. 20,609,919 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,688,081. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.74 and its 200-day moving average is $63.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WFC. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.