LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. significantly increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 83.5%, acquiring a total of 77,052 shares worth approximately $5.53 million.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a dividend increase, now paying $0.45 quarterly per share, up from $0.40, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Wells Fargo's stock, with the consensus rating at "Moderate Buy" and a recent price target increase by Bank of America from $83.00 to $90.00.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 83.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 35,057 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,050,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,244,000 after buying an additional 41,421 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 112,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494 shares in the last quarter. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $840,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Trajan Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 76,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,525,000 after purchasing an additional 9,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE WFC opened at $77.58 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $78.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $248.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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