Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. Has $18.30 Million Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 308,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 0.9% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $18,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 103.7% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 3,833,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,477 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,152 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $84,819,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $55.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $194.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $38.38 and a 52-week high of $62.55.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.