State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 11.5% in the first quarter, holding 1,107,991 shares worth approximately $79.5 million.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, indicating a 2.3% yield and a payout ratio of 30.82%.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Wells Fargo, with one downgrade to "market perform" yet overall ratings leaning towards a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average target price of $80.39.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,107,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 144,482 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $79,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $399,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% in the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 22.6% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 212,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,244,000 after buying an additional 39,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,783,000 after buying an additional 70,104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE WFC opened at $79.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its 200 day moving average is $75.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company 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%. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Raymond James Financial downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Dbs Bank upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.

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