First Merchants Corp Purchases New Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

First Merchants Corp acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 21,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $56.70 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.41. The firm has a market cap of $197.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.38 and a 1-year high of $62.55. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. 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 2.82%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.63.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.