AlphaQuest LLC Increases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 116.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,080 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 0.3% of AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at $215,638,000. M&G PLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,487,000 after buying an additional 2,245,307 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $173,651,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at $147,165,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $76.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $71.89 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The firm has a market cap of $234.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KGI Securities lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.53.

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.