GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Increases Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 213.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,944 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WFC stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.32. 11,237,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,377,113. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $271.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.47. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $83.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business 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 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.33.

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.