Washington Trust Bank Raises Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 126.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $72.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.34. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $50.15 and a 52 week high of $81.50. The company has a market capitalization of $238.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.39.

Wells Fargo & 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.