Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Position Reduced by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 21.6%, now owning 203,356 shares worth about $14.6 million.
• Wells Fargo recently increased its dividend from $0.40 to $0.45 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.2%.
• Despite mixed reviews from analysts, the stock has an average price target of $82.56 and ten analysts have rated it as a "Buy".

Acadian Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 203,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 55,864 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motco raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Phillip Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.0%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $81.14 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.12. 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 $259.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.

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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were 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 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

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.

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