Vicus Capital Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Vicus Capital raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 26,319,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,295,459,000 after purchasing an additional 263,176 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 25,218,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,241,231,000 after buying an additional 781,772 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,237,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,143,770,000 after buying an additional 526,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,941,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $932,352,000 after buying an additional 596,521 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.86. 3,484,233 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,940,584. The stock has a market cap of $194.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.30. 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 12 month low of $38.38 and a 12 month high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.63.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.