Meridian Wealth Management LLC Has $1.36 Million Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 108.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,871 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 34,339,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,855 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 238,131 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position 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 valued at $1,105,218,000 after buying an additional 14,210,193 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,914,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $977,338,000 after buying an additional 62,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 277.4% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,740,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,092,000 after buying an additional 7,894,919 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:WFC opened at $77.58 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $50.22 and a 1 year high of $84.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $248.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.93.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 16.82%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 30.82%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial lowered Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.39.

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.