EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 51,234 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 40.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,234 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $55.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $55.74 and a 200 day moving average of $57.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Twelve 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.