Secure Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Secure Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,099 shares during the quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $75.43 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.