Forsta AP Fonden Trims Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Wells Fargo by 7.9%, now holding 788,000 shares valued at approximately $56.57 million.
• Wells Fargo's Board announced a $40 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in the stock's value.
• The company declared a dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, reflecting a 2.3% annual yield.

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 788,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $56,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Motco grew its position in 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 last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.73 on Friday, hitting $77.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,121,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,813,622. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $50.22 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.95. The company has a market capitalization of $249.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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.