Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $71.41 and last traded at $71.08, with a volume of 23912499 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.10.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.52 and its 200-day moving average is $71.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $20.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.82 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.73% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, April 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 17.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spinnaker Trust grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 7,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Shakespeare Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Crown Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

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.