Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired 3,229 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, valued at approximately $232,000, marking a new position in the investment portfolio.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%.
• The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.41, alongside a modest revenue increase of 0.6% year-over-year.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 worth $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.4%

WFC stock opened at $80.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $262.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WFC. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

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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