Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires Shares of 10,385 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 5.5%

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $4.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $78.82. The stock had a trading volume of 24,590,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,313,142. The stock has a market cap of $256.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $76.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $83.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.13.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.