BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,104 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $45,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 49,050 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 15,919 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. Ames National Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $456,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $0.53 on Friday, hitting $72.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,260,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,460,740. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week high of $81.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.82. The company has a market capitalization of $237.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.73.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.