Artemis Investment Management LLP Grows Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,744,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 369,260 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.9% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.05% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $125,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,444,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 204,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 172,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,105,000 after acquiring an additional 6,668 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,783,000 after purchasing an additional 70,104 shares during the period. Finally, Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 130,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,215 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $80.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.01. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.15 and a 1-year high of $81.50. The firm has a market cap of $260.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.16.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

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.

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