Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $112,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.23. The stock had a trading volume of 18,626,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,897,705. The firm has a market cap of $213.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $37.18 and a fifty-two week high of $61.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.62.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.63%. The firm had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Compass Point reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.99.

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.