Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Raised by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 108.4%, owning 18,976 shares valued at approximately $1.36 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Wells Fargo recently reported earnings of $1.54 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue of $20.82 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.3%.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 108.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,976 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,871 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Motco raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock traded down $2.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $77.09. 15,374,441 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,525,808. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.22 and a one year high of $84.83. The company has a market cap of $246.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. 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 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.