Moore Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 776,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,525,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 0.6% of Moore Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Raymond James cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler dropped 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 research report on Monday, April 14th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $72.44 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The firm has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.22. 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 posted its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. 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 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

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

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.