Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 31,696 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Merit Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,696 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $4,512,563,000. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,310,663,000 after buying an additional 6,944,316 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 177.7% during the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,876,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,455,000 after buying an additional 3,120,399 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after buying an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $173,651,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $88.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.10. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo declared quarterly cash dividends on six series of preferred stock. The announcement provides clarity for income-focused investors and signals that the bank continues to support its preferred-capital structure. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis suggests WFC could be about 10% undervalued despite strong gains over the past three months, supporting the view that valuation may still leave room for additional appreciation. Wells Fargo Could Be 10% Undervalued After Preferred Dividend Declaration
• Positive Sentiment: Investors have been rotating from weaker-performing artificial-intelligence stocks into financials, creating a favorable sector backdrop for Wells Fargo and other banks. Risk-On Momentum in Bank Stocks Echoes Aftermath of Dot-Com Bust
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s latest earnings exceeded expectations, with $1.96 in earnings per share and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 8.6% year over year. Analysts continue to focus on potential net-interest-income growth, asset-cap removal and increased capital returns. WFC Stock Gains 20.5% in 3 Months: Buy, Hold or Sell the Stock Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is expanding its post-asset-cap strategy through tokenized deposits for corporate clients and new long-term debt and depositary-share offerings. The initiatives could improve payment capabilities and investment capacity, but their financial impact remains uncertain. Is Wells Fargo’s Tokenized Deposit Push Reshaping Its Post-Cap Investment Story?
• Negative Sentiment: After a roughly 20% three-month advance, valuation and profit-taking risks could limit near-term upside, making investors more sensitive to execution on growth and regulatory milestones. Why Is Wells Fargo Up Since Last Earnings Report?

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.