BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires 31,986 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its ownership in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.3%, acquiring an additional 31,986 shares, totaling 240,437 shares valued at approximately $17.26 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 30.82%.
• Despite some ratings downgrades from analysts, including a shift from "strong-buy" to "market perform," Wells Fargo holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $81.58.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 240,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 31,986 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $399,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 22.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 212,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,244,000 after acquiring an additional 39,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,783,000 after acquiring an additional 70,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Phillip Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:WFC opened at $77.4680 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.95. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $248.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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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