AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Grows Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 54,068 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 665,775 shares worth about $62.05 million.
• Wells Fargo reported Q1 earnings of $1.60 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $11.62 billion. Analysts currently expect the bank to earn $6.82 per share for the full year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share payable June 1, implying an annualized yield of 2.4%. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares in recent months, including EVP Bridget E. Engle and Kleber Santos, with total insider sales over the last 90 days reaching $10.05 million.

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,068 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $62,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $73.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $71.89 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $225.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.51 and its 200 day moving average is $85.73.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is benefiting from signs that revenue is growing, with one recent note pointing to roughly 6% year-over-year revenue growth in the latest quarter, which supports the view that core banking activity is improving.
• Positive Sentiment: The company has also been able to access the debt markets again, and new bond issuance plus stronger post-asset-cap earnings are reinforcing investor confidence that Wells Fargo can fund growth and expand its balance sheet more freely.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary suggests the key question now is efficiency: rising compensation and technology spending may make it harder for Wells Fargo to translate higher revenue into meaningfully better profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article framed WFC as being about 30 days past earnings and down since that report, with investors now waiting for updated earnings estimates and clearer evidence that the stock can rebound.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader financial-sector weakness has also weighed on sentiment, with financial stocks falling in recent trading and adding pressure to Wells Fargo shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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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