Vestcor Inc Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,200 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $588,000 after purchasing an additional 5,113 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 70,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.79. The stock had a trading volume of 15,567,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,313,220. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.83. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $266.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.