Catalina Capital Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Catalina Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,319,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,459,000 after buying an additional 263,176 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 25,218,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,231,000 after buying an additional 781,772 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,237,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,770,000 after buying an additional 526,178 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,941,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $932,352,000 after buying an additional 596,521 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.70. 12,092,711 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,178,027. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.67. The firm has a market cap of $208.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.17.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.36.

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.