Gagnon Securities LLC Decreases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Gagnon Securities LLC cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 37.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,131 shares during the quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 106,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,055 shares during the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 887.8% during the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 317,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,306,000 after acquiring an additional 285,425 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:WFC opened at $77.60 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The firm has a market cap of $252.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.97.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback 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.