Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Position Decreased by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.9%, now holding 244,063 shares valued at approximately $17.5 million.
• Wells Fargo's latest quarterly earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, reporting $1.54 earnings per share while revenue was slightly lower than anticipated at $20.82 billion.
• The company initiated a $40 billion stock buyback program, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 244,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,150 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE WFC traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.25. 14,071,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,653,194. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $50.15 and a fifty-two week high of $84.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $77.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 27.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WFC. Barclays cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently 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.