Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Lowered by Pzena Investment Management LLC

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 28.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,829,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,994,923 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 2.5% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $705,647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,783,000 after purchasing an additional 70,104 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 30.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,926,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,181 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.90 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $83.95. The firm has a market cap of $260.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.39.

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.