Panagora Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.6%, selling 293,794 shares, which now makes up about 1.3% of their investment portfolio.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Wells Fargo, with Bank of America increasing it from $83.00 to $90.00 and rating the stock as a "buy".
• Wells Fargo plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, marking an annualized increase to $1.80 with a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,560,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 293,794 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 1.3% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $255,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Motco grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 63.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $82.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $263.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 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 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.02.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

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.

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