BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• British Columbia Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo by 66.2%, owning 1,083,575 shares valued at approximately $77.79 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• Wells Fargo reported an EPS of $1.54 for the last quarter, exceeding the estimate of $1.41, and announced a dividend increase to $0.45 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.
• The company executed a $40 billion share repurchase program, indicative of leadership's belief that the stock is undervalued, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a price target of $81.58.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 66.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,083,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 431,767 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $77,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,127,000 after purchasing an additional 4,748 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 118,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,293,000 after buying an additional 39,635 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $1,068,000. Finally, Voya Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $79.0680 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $253.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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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