Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.2%, selling 231,195 shares during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to approximately $109.5 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts currently rate Wells Fargo's stock as a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $80.39, reflecting various ratings ranging from sell to buy.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,525,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 231,195 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $109,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC traded down $2.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.80. The stock had a trading volume of 16,070,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,314,816. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The company has a market cap of $253.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.