Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Boosted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,072 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $30,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $75.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.33.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.32. The stock had a trading volume of 11,235,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,310,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $271.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $74.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.27. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $83.94.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 28.73%.

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

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.