Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd Purchases Shares of 535,000 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 535,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,578,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 1.1% of Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 182.1% during the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 74,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,251,000 after buying an additional 48,254 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 5,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 17,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 3,939 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $301,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on 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, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.73.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.21. 13,857,805 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,511,054. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.49. The company has a market cap of $248.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.73%.

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.