Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,155,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $95,522,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,760,484 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 188,186 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during 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 buying an additional 2,369,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $1,364,923,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.68. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.