Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Reduces Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, with holdings now valued at approximately $12.7 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45, reflecting a new annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.3%.
• Wells Fargo's quarterly earnings reported a profit of $1.54 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and marking a revenue increase of 0.6% year-over-year.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 177,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,373 shares during the quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 205,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,162 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 22,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 309,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,765,000 after purchasing an additional 28,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during 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 last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.21 and its 200 day moving average is $74.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is currently 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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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