Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stake Boosted by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Key Points

• Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Wells Fargo by 7.0%, acquiring an additional 3,201 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total to 49,196 shares valued at approximately $3.94 million.
• Wells Fargo reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.54, exceeding analysts' expectations, while revenue showed a slight year-over-year increase of 0.6%.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.45 per share, reflecting a 12.5% increase from the previous dividend of $0.40.

Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2,735,254.3% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 949,769,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,095,550,000 after buying an additional 949,735,001 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,471,259,000 after buying an additional 128,207 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 worth $771,092,000 after buying an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of 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 worth $640,616,000 after buying an additional 523,107 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $431,418,000 after buying an additional 544,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $84.61. The company had a trading volume of 36,444,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,141,861. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.37. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $53.31 and a fifty-two week high of $84.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Phillip Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.56.

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.