Blue Trust Inc. Has $1.80 Million Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,613 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.63.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE WFC traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $55.33. The company had a trading volume of 19,173,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,122,936. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. 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 is $57.68 and its 200-day moving average is $57.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

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.