Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Regal Partners Ltd

Key Points

• Regal Partners Ltd increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 5.1% in the first quarter, now holding 753,848 shares valued at approximately $54 million.
• Wells Fargo reported $1.54 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue growth of 0.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, with a current yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 30.82%.

Regal Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 753,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,294 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 5.4% of Regal Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Regal Partners Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $54,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Motco increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $254.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $79.06 and its 200-day moving average is $74.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.22 and a one year high of $84.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication 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.

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