Westpac Banking Corp Has $1.72 Million Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 20.3% during Q1, now owning 24,009 shares valued at approximately $1.72 million.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Wells Fargo, with Morgan Stanley raising its target to $87.00, while Goldman Sachs lowered theirs to $91.00, reflecting mixed outlooks on the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.45, representing a 2.3% dividend yield, and a share buyback program amounting to $40 billion.

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,122 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,105,218,000 after purchasing an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $243,589,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350,605 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $198,801,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.9%

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $79.41. The stock had a trading volume of 16,049,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,416,609. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $50.22 and a 1-year high of $84.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 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.

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 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 return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

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