Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Lowers Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych reduced its position in Wells Fargo by 42.6% in the first quarter, holding 4,500 shares worth $323,000 after selling 3,337 shares.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share from $0.40, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%.
• The company's stock has a market capitalization of $253.18 billion and has reported earnings of $1.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates.

Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 42.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,337 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after buying an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,430,742,000 after buying an additional 238,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price target 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. Truist Financial increased their price target 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, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:WFC traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,735,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,474,547. The company has a market capitalization of $250.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

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

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.