Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 778,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,664 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $55,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $76.38. The company had a trading volume of 10,983,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,490,596. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.97.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.48.

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.