Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Sells 137,616 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management cut its Wells Fargo stake by 39.8% in the second quarter, selling 137,616 shares and retaining 208,294 shares valued at approximately $17.2 million.
• Wells Fargo reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.73 consensus estimate and revenue of $22.62 billion. The bank also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, yielding about 2.2% annually.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with the stock holding a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $98.61, compared with its reported share price of $89.90.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 208,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 137,616 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,512,563,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $859,431,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $729,502,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $89.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $97.76. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $86.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.66. The firm 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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