Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,510,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 150,038 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $106,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. NatWest Group plc raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $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 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,656,000. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.76. 18,345,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,544,821. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.81. The company has a market cap of $240.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50. 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 (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & 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.