Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Makes New $18.02 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 226,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,023,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,484 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after acquiring an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,922,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,260 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,606,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $895,466,000 after acquiring an additional 477,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s Q2 results topped expectations, helped by stronger lending activity, higher net interest income, and solid fee growth, which has reinforced the view that the bank is benefiting from a supportive operating backdrop. Wells Fargo (WFC) Had a Better Q2 than the Market Expected
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced plans to increase its third-quarter common dividend by 11% to $0.50 per share, reinforcing capital-return appeal for income-focused investors. Wells Fargo intends to hike Q3 common stock dividend by 11% to $0.50
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain upbeat, with one reiterating a Buy rating and keeping a $102 price target, citing re-rating potential after the earnings beat. Wells Fargo: Buy Rating Reiterated as Analyst Sees Re-Rating Potential and Keeps $102 Price Target Unchanged

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.50.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $87.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.74. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The firm has a market cap of $268.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.