Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $73.28 Million Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,233,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 237,400 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $73,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:WFC opened at $53.81 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.92. The company has a market cap of $187.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Twelve 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

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.