Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $75.24 Million Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 4.1% in Q1, owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $75.24 million.
• Institutional investors hold 75.90% of Wells Fargo's stock, with Capital Research Global Investors boosting its position by 932.0% in the last quarter.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.45 per share and announced a $40 billion share buyback plan to repurchase nearly 17.2% of its stock.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,050,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 41,421 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $75,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in 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 during the period. Nwam LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in 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. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of WFC traded down $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.96. 14,409,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,622,731. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $249.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

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.