Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 106.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 789,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 407,769 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $56,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.7%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $243.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.99. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $20.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $76.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.68.

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.