Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 335,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,120 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $28,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,594 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 38,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 13,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WFC. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $89.08 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $58.42 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.94 and a 200-day moving average of $85.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The business had revenue of $11.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.