Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,365,629 shares to reach a total of 5,307,366 shares.
• Wells Fargo recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, up from the previous $0.40, representing a 2.2% yield for investors.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Wells Fargo's stock, with Bank of America raising their target from $83.00 to $90.00 and Morgan Stanley from $77.00 to $87.00, indicating a consensus of a Moderate Buy rating.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 34.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,307,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,365,629 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.16% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $381,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth $29,000. Motco lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $82.15. 12,041,152 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,624,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $50.22 and a 12-month high of $84.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.99. The company has a market cap of $263.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase 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 is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Wells Fargo & 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.