Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,093 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $15,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,369,000 after acquiring an additional 30,510 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. NatWest Group plc increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,115,000 after purchasing an additional 63,102 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $242.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WFC. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Raymond James cut 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 report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.73.

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.