Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Boosts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,950,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,416 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $236,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.4% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 758,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,471,000 after purchasing an additional 71,740 shares in the last quarter. Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $364,000. NatWest Group plc raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 180,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,952,000 after buying an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4,148.2% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 30,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 29,618 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $92.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $85.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $291.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $93.42.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.18. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $21.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.04.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.