Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,669,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $117,280,000. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.05% of Wells Fargo & Company at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.7%

WFC stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.86. 9,260,180 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,491,052. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.01 and its 200 day moving average is $72.82. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $237.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.73.

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.