Leuthold Group LLC Makes New $5.67 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 95,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,672,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 9,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 46,982 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 261,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,505,000 after buying an additional 34,766 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,536,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,248,000 after acquiring an additional 72,000 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.4% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 86,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,111,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock traded up $1.39 on Thursday, reaching $55.65. 8,226,098 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,956,713. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.38 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.28 and a 200-day moving average of $57.89. The firm has a market cap of $194.01 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.