Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,801,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $76.40 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The stock has a market cap of $248.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.48.

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.