United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 537,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,100 shares during the quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $50,115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. KGI Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $76.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $234.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.93 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Charlie Scharf said Wells Fargo expects investment banking and trading revenue to rise by mid-teen percentages in the second quarter, which could support fee income and help offset weakness elsewhere. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: At a Bernstein conference, Wells Fargo highlighted improving momentum in key businesses, reinforcing the case that ongoing operating improvements and a possible easing of regulatory constraints could support the stock over time. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also benefiting indirectly from a broader banking backdrop in which excess cash in funding markets is boosting balance-sheet capacity at large banks, though this is more of an industry tailwind than a Wells Fargo-specific catalyst. Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg article
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo warned that the recent small-cap rally may be masking weakening earnings estimates, low profitability and rising debt, a message that points to a more fragile market backdrop and may weigh on sentiment toward financials. MarketWatch article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that WFC shares have been sliding year to date, reflecting investor concerns about the pace of recovery despite long-term support from digital growth, NII improvement and potential regulatory relief. Zacks article

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.