Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.8% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after buying an additional 1,179 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $790,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 35.3% during the third quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 6,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.8% during the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 943,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,305,000 after buying an additional 25,881 shares during the period. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $80.38 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The company has a market cap of $267.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.39.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.