Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Griffith & Werner Inc.

Griffith & Werner Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.6% of Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Griffith & Werner Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 190,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,369,000 after acquiring an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. NatWest Group plc raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 63,102 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.48.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.0%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.97. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

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