Ascent Group LLC Buys 26,591 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 295.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,591 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $0.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $59.59. 8,946,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,212,191. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55. The firm has a market cap of $207.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.31.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.