PDS Planning Inc Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,365,658,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,411,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,307,855 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 20,369,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,430,742,000 after purchasing an additional 238,131 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 932.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,734,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,105,218,000 after acquiring an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $977,338,000 after purchasing an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $73.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.98.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $79.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $257.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.27 and its 200-day moving average is $72.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 16.19% and a return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.73%.

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

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.