Wealthspire Advisors LLC Has $10.31 Million Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 508.1% during the first quarter, holding 143,588 shares valued at over $10 million.
• Wells Fargo recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, up from the previous $0.40, indicating strong shareholder returns.
• Wall Street analysts have given Wells Fargo a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $80.39, despite a recent downgrade from some institutions.

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 508.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 119,977 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFC. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $77.02. 13,105,579 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,875,784. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.97. The firm has a market cap of $246.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. 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%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

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.