Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,874,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,369,000 after acquiring an additional 30,510 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares during the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $75.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.32. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Six 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & 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.