Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by KLCM Advisors Inc.

KLCM Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,120 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 2.0% of KLCM Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. KLCM Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.3% during the first quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 4,158 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $385,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $640,616,000 after purchasing an additional 523,107 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 18,667 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.6% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 42,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,039,000 after purchasing an additional 5,065 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.9%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $77.96 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The stock has a market cap of $249.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is 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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