Compound Planning Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Compound Planning Inc. has increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 71.0%, now holding approximately $2.48 million worth of shares.
• Wells Fargo's board has authorized a $40 billion stock repurchase program, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company will increase its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, up from the previous $0.40, reflecting a positive outlook on its financial performance.

Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 71.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,502 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,326 shares during the quarter. Compound Planning Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th 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 raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the 1st 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 raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,616,000 after acquiring an additional 523,107 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings 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 worth $431,418,000 after acquiring an additional 544,473 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded up $1.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $82.81. 5,471,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,074,998. The company has a market cap of $265.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 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's 50-day simple moving average is $79.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WFC. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.