Pzena Investment Management LLC Makes New $729.50 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,827,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $729,502,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 2.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 0.29% of Wells Fargo & Company as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WFC opened at $83.83 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $86.08 and its 200-day moving average is $82.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The firm has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.