Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Hardin Capital Partners LLC

Hardin Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,465 shares during the quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.68. 9,480,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,454,059. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen started 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 target for the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.