Morgan Stanley Boosts Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $64.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $63.00 to $64.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued a neutral rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $57.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $58.85.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $57.18 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.42 and a 200-day moving average of $48.61. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $36.40 and a 1-year high of $58.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $202.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 208.0% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 528,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 356,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.