Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 53.7% during the first quarter, owning a total of 38,236 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million.
• Wells Fargo recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, up from the previous $0.40, indicating a 2.18% dividend yield for investors.
• Following its quarterly earnings report, which beat analysts' estimates, Wells Fargo's stock has a current price target range with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 53.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,236 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,355 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 238,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $977,338,000 after acquiring an additional 62,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st 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 period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.79. 15,567,115 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,313,220. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.15 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $266.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.16. The company's fifty day moving average price is $78.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.78.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.