FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has newly acquired a stake in Wells Fargo, buying 12,890 shares valued at approximately $925,000 in the first quarter of 2023.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.2%.
• Multiple brokerages have issued positive ratings for Wells Fargo, with Bank of America raising its price target from $83.00 to $90.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Motco lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WFC. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $82.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $264.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.98.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

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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