Wells Fargo Just Paid Investors: How Much Did They Get?
Wells Fargo just rewarded its shareholders again with a dividend hike. This financial giant has provided shareholders a payout every quarter for 30 years. The post Wells Fargo Just Paid Investors: How Much Did They Get? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is rewarding its shareholders once again with a quarterly dividend of $0.40, payable on Saturday, March 1. That is in line with the prior two payouts.
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
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Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) just rewarded its shareholders again with a dividend.
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This financial giant has provided shareholders a payout every quarter for 30 years.
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This bank posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and is enthusiastic about its prospects for this year. The ongoing dividend payment underscores management’s commitment to delivering consistent value to investors.
Why Investors Like Dividends
Investors favor dividend stocks for two main reasons. The first is that they offer enticing total return potential. Total return is a comprehensive measure of investment performance that includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time. In other words, the total return on an investment or a portfolio consists of income and stock appreciation. It is one of the most effective ways to boost the prospects of overall investing success.
Dividend stocks can also provide investors with a steady, reliable stream of passive income. Passive income is money that is earned with little to no ongoing effort, usually from assets that generate cash flow. This income can come from a variety of sources, including stock dividends. Generating passive income is a desirable financial strategy for those seeking to diversify their income streams or achieve financial independence.
Wells Fargo’s Dividend
This financial giant has paid a quarterly dividend since 1995. While the payout has varied, it has increased annually since late 2020, when the payout was $0.10. That works out to be a compound annual growth rate of more than 30% since 2020.
The current dividend yield is about 2.1%, which is lower than the industry and sector averages but higher than the S&P 500 average figure. Wells Fargo’s share price is around 367% higher since 2000. So, it has offered investors some growth along with income.
Wells Fargo, the Company
This financial services company provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally.
Its Consumer Banking and Lending segment offers diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and home, auto, personal, and small business lending services.
The Commercial Banking segment provides financial solutions to private, family-owned, and certain public companies. Its offerings include banking and credit products across various industry sectors and municipalities, secured lending and lease products, and treasury management services.
The Corporate and Investment Banking segment offers a suite of capital markets, banking, and financial products and services. These include corporate banking, investment banking, treasury management, commercial real estate lending and servicing, equity, and fixed-income solutions, as well as sales, trading, and research capabilities services to corporate, commercial real estate, government, and institutional clients.
The Wealth and Investment Management segment provides personalized wealth management, brokerage, financial planning, lending, private banking, and trust and fiduciary products and services to affluent, high-net-worth, and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Its headquarters are in San Francisco. The company was founded in 1852 to provide express and banking services to California in the gold rush era. Wells Fargo went public in June of 1972. It now is considered one of the “big four” American banks, along with these rivals:
Wells Fargo has been released from a handful of consent orders in the past month. Its chief financial offer recently predicted that artificial intelligence would affect every part of the company. The bank also recently recruited an advisor team from UBS. And it handily exceeded fourth-quarter earnings expectations and said it expects net interest income to be higher this year.
Wells Fargo, the Stock
The share price is 87% or so higher than five years ago, underperforming the S&P 500. The stock has outperformed the broader market year to date with about a 9% gain thus far. Shares recently hit an all-time high of $81.50. The mean price target is even higher at $84.48, which signals more than 10% upside in the coming 12 months. Fourteen of 23 analysts recommend buying shares, five of them with Strong Buy ratings. Barclays and Morgan Stanley each reiterated its Overweight rating last month.
Note that the stock used to be a Warren Buffett favorite, but Berkshire Hathaway sold off its Wells Fargo stake in 2022. Institutional investors hold more than 78% of the shares. Blackstone, FMR, and Vanguard have notable stakes. Note that more than 27 million shares, or almost 1% of the float, are held short. Also, there have been no notable insider transactions reported in the past few months.
Two Blue Chip Dividend Giants Make Up Almost 40% of Warren Buffett’s Portfolio
The post Wells Fargo Just Paid Investors: How Much Did They Get? appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
