Equity Investment Corp Acquires New Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,504,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $124,359,000. Wells Fargo & Company comprises 2.4% of Equity Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $1,287,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,250,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $729,502,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,922,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $83.83 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $86.08 and its 200-day moving average is $82.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source