Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock Position Boosted by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 21.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $45,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Aventus Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $89.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $279.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.94 and a 200-day moving average of $85.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $58.42 and a 12-month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $11.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.71%.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.