Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 82,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,361 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $78.35 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.39.

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.