Deutsche Bank AG Sells 761,824 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4%, selling 761,824 shares, and now holds approximately 9.54 million shares valued at $685.16 million.
• Wells Fargo has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.3%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a profit of $1.54 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and its revenue for the quarter was slightly below expectations at $20.82 billion.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,543,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 761,824 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.29% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $685,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 worth $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during the first 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. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after buying an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth $198,801,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.60 on Thursday. 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 has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The company has a market cap of $252.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $78.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.97.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

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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