Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in Wells Fargo by 16.5%, selling 52,218 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 263,342 shares valued at approximately $18.9 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share from the previous $0.40, representing an annual yield of 2.3% with a payout ratio of 27.40%.
• The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue slightly up year-over-year.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 52,218 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $18,905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 valued at $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $198,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WFC stock traded up $0.73 on Friday, hitting $77.78. The stock had a trading volume of 14,121,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,890,616. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.92 and a 200 day moving average of $74.93. The stock has a market cap of $249.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.