Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 177.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,876,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,120,399 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises approximately 2.5% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $454,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cogent Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $402,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,893.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 18,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 17,473 shares during the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, a16z Perennial Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. a16z Perennial Management L.P. now owns 6,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $77.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.93 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.