Heartland Bank & Trust Co Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,487,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,484 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after purchasing an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,364,923,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WFC. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.1%

WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend 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 presently 29.07%.

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.