Equitable Holdings Inc. Purchases Shares of 78,933 Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 78,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,523,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,512,563,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,635,881,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,364,923,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $859,431,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $729,502,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.3%

WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $86.19 and its 200 day moving average is $82.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.86 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & 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.