Vest Financial LLC Boosts Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,547 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,262,000. Exane Asset Management purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. NatWest Group plc now owns 172,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,115,000 after buying an additional 63,102 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $76.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $248.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.15 and a 12 month high of $81.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.97.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.48.

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.

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