Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $54.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.38 and a 1 year high of $62.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Twelve investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

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.