Fiduciary Trust Co Boosts Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $72.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $235.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.15 and a 1 year high of $81.50.

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

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $88.00 to $78.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.34.

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.