Korea Investment CORP Acquires New Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP acquired 3.6 million Wells Fargo shares worth approximately $297.3 million, giving it about 0.12% of the bank and making WFC its 27th-largest holding.
• Wells Fargo exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.96 in EPS and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 8.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, equating to a $2.00 annualized payout and a 2.4% yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $98.61 target price.

Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,596,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $297,253,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 0.6% of Korea Investment CORP's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.12% of Wells Fargo & Company as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average price is $86.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.79. The firm has a market cap of $256.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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