Cozad Asset Management Inc. Invests $211,000 in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $2,623,044,000. Capital World Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 263,176 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% during 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 position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 23,237,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,143,770,000 after buying an additional 526,178 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,941,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,352,000 after buying an additional 596,521 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.31.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $60.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $211.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $59.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.04.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

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.