Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $77.41 Million Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo by 8.2% during Q1, owning now over 1 million shares valued at approximately $77.41 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, representing an annualized dividend of $1.80 with a yield of 2.2%.
• Multiple hedge funds adjusted their positions in Wells Fargo, with institutional investors now owning 75.90% of the company's stock.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,078,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,449 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $77,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,497,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,471,259,000 after purchasing an additional 128,207 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $640,616,000 after purchasing an additional 523,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,009,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $431,418,000 after purchasing an additional 544,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $80.19 on Tuesday. 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 has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day moving average is $74.88.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding 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 usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.58.

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.

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