Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Buys 167,232 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.9%, making it the firm's 10th largest position with over 2 million shares valued at approximately $147.5 million.
• Wells Fargo recently reported earnings of $1.54 EPS, exceeding analysts' estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45 per share.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Wells Fargo, with an average price target of $80.39, amidst a range of rating adjustments from various firms.

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,055,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 167,232 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 2.5% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD owned approximately 0.06% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $147,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 3,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 6,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Truist Financial boosted 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 assumed 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 for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC traded down $1.52 on Wednesday, reaching $77.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,409,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,622,731. The firm has a market cap of $249.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $79.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $84.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share 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 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 company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 buyback 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 repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company 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 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 yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 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.