Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes $480.16 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 5.81 million Wells Fargo shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $480.2 million and representing about 0.19% of the bank.
• Wells Fargo exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.96 in EPS and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 8.6% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $98.61 target price versus the stock’s $85.00 opening price; however, commercial real-estate exposure and credit-quality concerns remain risks.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,810,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $480,162,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.19% of Wells Fargo & Company as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $85.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $257.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $86.19 and its 200-day moving average is $82.68. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised 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 company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

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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