Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $11.07 Million Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 14.1%, holding approximately $11.07 million worth of shares as of its recent SEC filing.
• Wells Fargo has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45, which reflects an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.3%.
• The company also announced a stock repurchase program authorizing up to $40 billion to buy back shares, indicating leadership confidence in the stock's value.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 154,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,381 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Motco raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $77.60 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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