Diversify Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 94.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,503 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, KGI Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $87.07 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.67 and a 200-day moving average of $83.96. The company has a market cap of $266.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.