Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Invests $56.97 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 811,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,968,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.9% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WFC opened at $72.44 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.22. The stock has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management.