Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 3,387 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.5%, acquiring an additional 3,387 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 64,903 shares valued at approximately $4.66 million.
• Wells Fargo reported $1.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and indicating a 0.6% revenue growth compared to the previous year.
• The company has initiated a $40 billion stock buyback plan, signaling confidence from its Board of Directors that shares are currently undervalued.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,387 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 163,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,464,000 after buying an additional 19,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 24,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,688,000 after buying an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WFC traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,475,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,737,668. The company's 50-day moving average is $78.14 and its 200-day moving average is $74.78. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

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.