Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Up 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares shot up 1.6% on Monday . The company traded as high as $73.65 and last traded at $73.49. 2,502,868 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 17,444,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.68.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 29th that allows the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth about $3,365,658,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,894,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7,887.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,393,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,589,000 after buying an additional 3,350,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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