Selway Asset Management Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Selway Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the quarter. Selway Asset Management's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,369,000 after purchasing an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,115,000 after buying an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $10,451,000. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $1,656,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.55.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 9.2 %

WFC traded down $6.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $65.62. 25,850,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,157,369. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.74%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.