Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 6.3% in Q4, buying an additional 30,559 shares to hold 513,187 shares valued at about $47.83 million, and institutional investors now own 75.90% of WFC.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly EPS of $1.60 (beating the $1.58 estimate) with revenue of $11.62 billion (up 6.4% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 (2.3% yield) payable June 1 with an ex-dividend date of May 8; the stock has a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 513,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,559 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $47,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,122,000 after acquiring an additional 7,368 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 8,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $79.27 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $242.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $80.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.21.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

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