SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 201.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,796 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after acquiring an additional 238,131 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after buying an additional 62,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.90. 30,557,486 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,406,552. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $76.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.01. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $83.95. The company has a market cap of $260.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16.

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 net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.