Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $83.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.