Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,552 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Sweeney & Michel LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at $1,635,000. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 14,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 45.4% during the first quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 19,481 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 6,084 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.7% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 755,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $54,231,000 after purchasing an additional 33,712 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.88. The stock had a trading volume of 20,123,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,495,581. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $243.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50. The business's 50 day moving average price is $70.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.94.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $75.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.48.

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.