Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd lessened its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 13.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 212,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,244,000 after acquiring an additional 39,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,783,000 after acquiring an additional 70,104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $77.58 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.98 and a 200-day moving average of $74.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.