170,363 Shares in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Bought by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased 170,363 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, valued at approximately $12.23 million, marking a significant investment in the financial services provider.
• Wells Fargo's board approved a $40 billion share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in the company's stock valuation, as management believes it to be undervalued.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders with an annual yield of 2.3%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 170,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,230,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after buying an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after buying an additional 3,350,605 shares during the period. 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 last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $198,801,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.5%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $253.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $78.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

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.

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