Empirical Finance LLC Has $7.98 Million Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 137,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,335 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE:WFC traded down $3.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.54. 52,886,277 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,429,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.38 and a one year high of $62.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.73.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.52.

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.