Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Vetr from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a $50.19 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Vetr‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.56% from the stock’s previous close.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Numeric Investors LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Co. by 105.3% in the fourth quarter. Numeric Investors LLC now owns 499,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,164,000 after buying an additional 256,300 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Co. by 10.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,564,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,445,000 after buying an additional 611,374 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Co. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,065,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,226,000 after buying an additional 22,620 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Co. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,559,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,112,000 after buying an additional 31,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Co. by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Asia Ltd. now owns 81,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,443,000 after buying an additional 6,750 shares during the last quarter.
In other news, Director James H. Quigley purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.97 per share, with a total value of $99,940.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,435.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.01. The company earned $22.20 billion during the quarter. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Co. will post $4.03 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 3rd.
Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup Inc. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research report on Sunday, April 17th. FBR & Co reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research report on Sunday, April 17th. Barclays PLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research report on Sunday, April 17th. Bank of America Corp. reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research report on Friday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $59.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.68.
Wells Fargo & Company is a bank holding company. The Company is a financial services company, which offers banking, insurance, trust and investments, mortgage banking, investment banking, retail banking, brokerage, and consumer and commercial finance. It has three operating segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.
