Principal Street Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WFC. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.73.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $75.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $245.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.88 and a 200 day moving average of $72.69. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.