Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 25.5% during the first quarter, now holding 238,824 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million.
• Wells Fargo recently reported $1.54 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.41, with a net margin of 16.82%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, marking a rise from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.40, translating to an annualized yield of 2.3%.

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,494 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,497,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,471,259,000 after purchasing an additional 128,207 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $771,092,000 after purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,953,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $640,616,000 after purchasing an additional 523,107 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,009,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $431,418,000 after purchasing an additional 544,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,307,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365,629 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE WFC opened at $79.21 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $50.22 and a 12 month high of $84.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.52 and a 200-day moving average of $75.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $253.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company 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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