Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Latash Investments LLC

Key Points

• Latash Investments LLC sold 94,246 shares of Wells Fargo, reducing its position by 6.1%, while still holding approximately 86.2% of its portfolio in the bank, valued at over $104 million.
• Wells Fargo's shares have recently risen by 2.4%, coinciding with the company's earnings report, which exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.54.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting a 2.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 30.82%.

Latash Investments LLC decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,460,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 94,246 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 86.2% of Latash Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Latash Investments LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $104,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the first quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% during the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $1.52 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.96. The stock had a trading volume of 14,409,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,622,731. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $249.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.22 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WFC. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

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.