Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Cynosure Group LLC

Key Points

• Cynosure Group LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 50% during the first quarter, selling 51,198 shares and now holding approximately $3.68 million in shares, making it the 29th largest position in their portfolio.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45, representing a yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 27.40%.
• The company has a significant stock buyback plan of $40 billion to repurchase shares, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Cynosure Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 50.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,198 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 0.5% of Cynosure Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cynosure Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.78. 14,121,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,890,616. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.93. The company has a market cap of $249.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.