Plato Investment Management Ltd Takes $6.15 Million Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 74,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $3,487,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760,484 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings 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 worth $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 boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 2,369,260 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,364,923,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $83.83 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $253.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $86.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.97. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

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.