Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 57,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 58.2% in the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 3,229 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,282,000. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co now owns 47,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 93.8% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 79,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,242,000 after acquiring an additional 38,347 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $61.23 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $213.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.19 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (up from $56.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.99.

Wells Fargo & 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.