Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,510 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $13,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.39.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5 %

WFC traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.22. 13,439,759 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,325,252. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $47.59 and a 12-month high of $81.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.08 and a 200 day moving average of $65.78. The firm has a market cap of $263.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $20.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 7th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.74%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.