Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stakes in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 63.6% this year, making it the firm's 9th largest position.
• Wells Fargo's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with an EPS of $1.54, surpassing estimates by $0.13. The company also announced a dividend increase to $0.45 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Wells Fargo has authorized a $40 billion share buyback program, indicating the board's belief that the current stock price is undervalued.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 63.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 519,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 202,078 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 1.5% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $37,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $286,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 27,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Finer Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $238,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:WFC opened at $77.96 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.99. The company has a market cap of $249.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Phillip Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. 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 has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

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.

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