Pzena Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 8,827,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $729,502,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 2.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $83.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFC. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.