174,496 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Purchased by Element Capital Management LLC

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 174,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,363,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 0.8% of Element Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,319,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,295,459,000 after purchasing an additional 263,176 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 25,218,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,241,231,000 after purchasing an additional 781,772 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,905,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $290,690,000 after buying an additional 25,896 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.78. The stock had a trading volume of 24,762,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,010,568. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

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.