Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 397,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,280 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 0.6% of South Dakota Investment Council's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $28,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in 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 buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 worth $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position 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 worth $977,338,000 after buying an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $80.64. The stock had a trading volume of 21,202,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,458,807. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $83.95. The company has a market capitalization of $262.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.14 and a 200 day moving average of $74.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.