Sapient Capital LLC Sells 145,872 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Sapient Capital LLC cut its Wells Fargo stake by 43.9% in the first quarter, selling 145,872 shares and retaining 186,652 shares valued at approximately $14.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.9% of WFC.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly EPS of $1.96, exceeding estimates of $1.73, while revenue rose 8.6% year over year to $22.62 billion. The bank also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 per share, implying a 2.3% annual yield.
• WFC opened at $86.60, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $98.61; recent targets generally range from $94 to $108.

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 43.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 145,872 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,610,000 after purchasing an additional 84,902 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,673,000 after buying an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,446,000 after buying an additional 17,302 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,512,563,000. Finally, Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $3,384,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

WFC stock opened at $86.60 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $261.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $83.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.61.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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