Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Has $878,000 Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 159.3%, owning 12,234 shares valued at $878,000 after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Wells Fargo has reported a quarterly EPS of $1.54, exceeding analysts’ estimates, with a slight year-over-year revenue increase to $20.82 billion, while also announcing a $40 billion share buyback program.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing a 2.2% dividend yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 30.82%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 159.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,516 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 137,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,651,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.7%

WFC opened at $81.55 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.22 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.87 and a 200-day moving average of $74.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $261.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

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.

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