Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo by 3.0% during Q1, now owning 446,120 shares valued at approximately $32 million.
• Wells Fargo's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.54, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.45, with a new annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.

Townsquare Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,016 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $32,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 22,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the first quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $77.78. 14,121,735 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,813,622. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.95. 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 company has a market cap of $249.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 12.29%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. 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. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

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.