Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys 4,681 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,352,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,681 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $94,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.44. 11,136,882 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,544,748. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The company's 50-day moving average is $69.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

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 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.