Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC Takes $445,000 Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo, purchasing 6,200 shares valued at approximately $445,000.
• Wells Fargo recently announced a dividend increase to $0.45 per share, up from the previous $0.40, indicating a boost to shareholder returns.
• Analysts have generally rated Wells Fargo with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and set an average price target of $81.58 for the stock.

Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Motco increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $81.55 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 and a 52-week high of $84.83. The stock has a market cap of $261.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $79.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.93.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 30.82%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.