Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stake Cut by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management trimmed its Wells Fargo stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,624 shares and ending with 3,422,909 shares valued at about $319 million.
• Wells Fargo reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.60 per share, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 6.4% from a year earlier to $11.62 billion.
• The bank recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 2.2%, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy on average with a $97.53 target price.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,422,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,624 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up 2.1% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $319,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,122,000 after buying an additional 7,368 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its position 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 valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $82.06 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.93 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $251.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.71.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KGI Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Wells Fargo after management offered a strong outlook, with coverage showing a majority Buy rating and implied upside to the shares. Street Bullish on Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) After CEO Offered Strong Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is also part of a planned shared tokenized deposit network led by The Clearing House, suggesting the bank is positioning itself for faster, blockchain-based payments and a new growth avenue. Big Banks Launch Tokenized Deposit Network to Fight Off Stablecoin Threat
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting that Wells Fargo is a trending stock points to heightened investor attention, but it does not add new fundamentals by itself. Is Trending Stock Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s role in the tokenized-deposit network was reiterated in separate reports, reinforcing the strategic theme rather than signaling an immediate financial impact. Tokenized Deposits Set Up Banking’s Next Network Race

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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