Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Lifted by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 342,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $24,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $74.95 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $81.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $243.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.68.

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.