Axa S.A. Acquires 63,321 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 287,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,321 shares during the period. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $20,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $117,026,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 144.3% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $149,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of 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. lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Six 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. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.1 %

WFC traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $73.29. 19,946,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,544,615. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $81.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The firm 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 for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.