Eldred Rock Partners LLC Cuts Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Eldred Rock Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo by 4.9%, now owning 127,015 shares valued at over $10 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.2%.
• The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.41 EPS.

Eldred Rock Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 127,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,599 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 3.1% of Eldred Rock Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Eldred Rock Partners LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2,735,254.3% during the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 949,769,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,095,550,000 after buying an additional 949,735,001 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $198,801,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $117,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $81.39 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $53.31 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $260.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.56.

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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