Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New $56.97 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 811,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $56,968,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 1.9% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spinnaker Trust increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:WFC opened at $72.44 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.22.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.34.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.