NFJ Investment Group LLC Makes New $16.97 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC has acquired 236,427 shares of Wells Fargo & Company, valued at approximately $16.97 million, during the first quarter.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its dividend to $0.45 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.2% and a growth from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.
• Wells Fargo's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $82.56.

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 236,427 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,973,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $198,801,000. Theleme Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $187,049,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $117,280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 3.5%

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $2.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,656,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,342,975. The stock has a market capitalization of $253.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $80.54 and its 200 day moving average is $75.03. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.