Longbow Finance SA Sells 27,880 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.7%, selling 27,880 shares, leaving them with 129,830 shares valued at approximately $9.32 million.
• Wells Fargo recently reported earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share with a yield of 1.91%.
• Multiple analysts have provided mixed ratings on Wells Fargo, with the stock currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $80.39.

Longbow Finance SA reduced its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,880 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 1.1% of Longbow Finance SA's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.25. 14,071,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,653,194. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $84.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $77.86 and a 200 day moving average of $74.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. 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, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.