Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,781 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 5,113 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 651,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,783,000 after buying an additional 70,104 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 30.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,926,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $353,668,000 after buying an additional 1,152,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 5.3%

Shares of WFC traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $78.97. 53,916,800 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,425,704. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $83.95. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.61 and its 200-day moving average is $73.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 16.19%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Barclays cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.13.

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.