New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Cuts Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,700 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $82.55. 12,577,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,411,040. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $83.95.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.13.

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.