Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock Price Down 3.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company's stock price fell by 3.4%, trading between $80.77 and $80.94, after closing at $83.82.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mixed sentiment, with Morgan Stanley downgrading the stock while Citigroup and Truist Financial raised their target prices.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.40 to $0.45, reflecting a 2.2% yield and a payout ratio of 30.82%.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)'s share price was down 3.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $80.77 and last traded at $80.94. Approximately 16,883,511 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 16,734,582 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley cut Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $87.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.74.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $80.96 and a 200-day moving average of $76.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%.The business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 30.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at $399,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.4% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 758,376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,471,000 after acquiring an additional 71,740 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $408,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 166.4% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,113 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz SE grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 22.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 212,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,244,000 after acquiring an additional 39,150 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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