William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Invests $1.07 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 18,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 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 worth approximately $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $55.90 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. 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 results 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $20.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.