Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $48.12 Million Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 516,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,959 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $48,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 14,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 27,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $829,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $1,172,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports said Wall Street remains bullish on Wells Fargo after the CEO offered a strong outlook, with 69% of covering analysts rating the stock a Buy and the average price target implying substantial upside. Street Bullish on Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) After CEO Offered Strong Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Wells Fargo shares may be at an attractive entry point, arguing that the stock’s recent pullback looks larger than the deterioration in fundamentals and could appeal to value-focused investors. Wells Fargo shares at attractive entry point amid execution concerns
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest has also picked up, with Zacks noting WFC has become a trending stock as market participants look for a buy case in the shares. Is Trending Stock Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also drew attention for consumer-focused homebuying research and broader financial wellness commentary, but these items are more informational than directly material to near-term earnings. Are You Ready to Buy a Home? Wells Fargo Finds Most Prospective First-Time Buyers Aren’t and Don’t Know It

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 3.6%

WFC opened at $81.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 0.92 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.72.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

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.