Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 213,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,696 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $16,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,487,687,000 after buying an additional 1,760,484 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,975,600,000 after buying an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after buying an additional 2,369,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,606,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,466,000 after buying an additional 477,745 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WFC stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $87.07. 14,053,458 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,508,680. The stock has a market capitalization of $266.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.03. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary remain upbeat on Wells Fargo’s upcoming results, with expectations for higher net interest income and fee income to support earnings. The stock is also benefiting from a “moderate buy” consensus and renewed interest in bank earnings ahead of the reporting season.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo was cited as a bullish name in sector research, and the broader banking group is seen as positioned for solid Q2 results, which could lift financial stocks if the trend holds.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles focused on Wells Fargo mostly previewed the earnings release rather than delivering new company-specific news, so investors are still waiting for a catalyst from the actual report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market news was mixed but relatively calm, with futures drifting and investors waiting for inflation data and earnings season, which suggests WFC’s move is more tied to positioning than to any fresh negative headline.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $86.50 to $93.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.34.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.