Amundi Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Amundi cut its Wells Fargo stake by 17.1% in the second quarter, selling 2.81 million shares and retaining 13.65 million shares valued at approximately $1.13 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 75.9% of WFC.
• Wells Fargo reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.73 consensus and revenue of $22.62 billion, up 8.6% year over year.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annualized, producing a 2.2% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $98.61.

Amundi reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,654,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,809,180 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.45% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $1,128,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,122,000 after buying an additional 7,368 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after buying an additional 8,714 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $89.90 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.63. The company has a market cap of $271.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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