Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Reduces Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo by 0.8% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 3,591,437 shares valued at $257.83 million.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45, marking a 2.3% yield, with an annualized total of $1.80.
• The firm's stock has experienced a 1.6% increase and has a current market cap of $253.29 billion, with an average price target of $81.58 from analysts.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,591,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,754 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.11% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $257,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,497,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,471,259,000 after purchasing an additional 128,207 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,616,000 after buying an additional 523,107 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,009,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $431,418,000 after purchasing an additional 544,473 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.6%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.0680 on Monday. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.88. The company has a market cap of $253.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.22 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

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.

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