Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Buys Shares of 8,581 Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Itau Unibanco Holdings acquired 8,581 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, valued at approximately $616,000, during the 1st quarter.
• Wells Fargo reported earnings of $1.54 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.45.
• Market analysts have expressed a generally positive outlook on Wells Fargo, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $81.58.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Motco lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.7%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $81.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.