Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,702 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Verum Partners LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 7,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 3,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Lynch & Associates IN increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 6,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.77.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 7.1%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $84.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $58.42 and a 1 year high of $86.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.67. The stock has a market cap of $270.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.11. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

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.