Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $64.84 and last traded at $64.68, with a volume of 5639402 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.02.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WFC. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $225.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.15.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,035,000 after purchasing an additional 48,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.