First American Trust FSB Acquires 19,519 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• First American Trust FSB increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 19,519 shares to total 164,626 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million.
• Wells Fargo recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, raising its annualized dividend yield to 2.3% and reflecting a positive change from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.
• The company's stock ratings have seen mixed reviews, with several firms downgrading their ratings while Morgan Stanley increased its price target from $77 to $87, indicating an overall "Moderate Buy" consensus.

First American Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,519 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 1.1% of First American Trust FSB's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. First American Trust FSB's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th 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 period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 valued at $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WFC. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $77.78 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $78.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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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