Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,379,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 283,187 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $237,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,365,658,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237,500 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $117,026,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,031,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 3,286,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $230,865,000 after buying an additional 1,150,443 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 7.2 %

Shares of WFC opened at $60.91 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $50.15 and a twelve month high of $81.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.44.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.58 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.