AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 365,600 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 55.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,023,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 365,600 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $59,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.9 %

WFC stock opened at $55.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.74 and a 200-day moving average of $57.81.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.29.

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.