Banque Pictet & Cie SA Increases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,303,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,166 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 0.7% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $77,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 5,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 5,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.70. 17,074,409 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,010,037. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.55 and its 200 day moving average is $57.41. The stock has a market cap of $197.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, 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.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price (down previously from $70.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $59.00 to $61.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 note on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.63.

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.