Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 638,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,055,000 after acquiring an additional 173,083 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 177,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 26,320 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 8,107 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 6.6 %

WFC opened at $75.86 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.41 and a 200 day moving average of $63.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $46.12 and a 12 month high of $78.13. The firm has a market cap of $252.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.09. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $20.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.92.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.