Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. sharply increased its Wells Fargo stake by 177.7% in the fourth quarter, adding more than 3.1 million shares and making WFC its 14th-largest holding.
• Wells Fargo reported Q1 earnings of $1.60 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $97.53.
• The bank paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.3%, while the shares traded near $77.26, below the stock’s 52-week high of $97.76.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 177.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,876,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,120,399 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 2.5% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.16% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $454,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,610,000 after purchasing an additional 84,902 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,673,000 after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 38,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 13,393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE WFC opened at $77.26 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $71.93 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $236.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.53.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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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