Todd Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.6%, selling 56,753 shares, and now owns a total of 360,562 shares worth approximately $25.9 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, marking a rise from the previous dividend of $0.40, resulting in a 2.3% dividend yield.
• Institutional investors collectively own 75.90% of Wells Fargo's stock, with significant changes in holdings by various large investors, including a 932% increase by Capital Research Global Investors.

Todd Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,753 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $25,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $198,801,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 a consensus price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $79.41. The stock had a trading volume of 16,049,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,416,262. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The stock has a market cap of $254.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

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