Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,641 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $1.48 on Friday, reaching $76.38. The stock had a trading volume of 10,983,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,490,569. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.15 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.95. The stock has a market cap of $248.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.48.

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.