Woodline Partners LP Purchases 77,913 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 39% during the first quarter, now holding a total of 277,863 shares valued at approximately $19.9 million.
• Recent analyst reports have resulted in varied target price adjustments for Wells Fargo, with the average target now at $82.56 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Wells Fargo announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.40 to $0.45, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%.

Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,913 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $19,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Motco lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 397.6% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.56.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $80.29 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.22 and a twelve month high of $84.83. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.25.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 12.29%. 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 company earned $1.33 EPS. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 was paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

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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