Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,753 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan reiterated a Hold rating on Wells Fargo and cut its price target to $86.50 from $91, reinforcing a more cautious near-term outlook for the stock. Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Expected To Stay Under Pressure In The Short Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo announced cash dividends on six series of preferred stock, a routine capital return update that should not materially change the near-term outlook for common shares. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Wells Fargo’s post-earnings performance noted that the stock remains below its recent levels after the company’s latest results, with investors still assessing whether revenue growth can offset higher compensation and technology costs. Wells Fargo Revenues Are Rising, But Can It Bend the Cost Curve?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s economists changed their view on the timing of the next Fed rate cut, highlighting uncertainty around inflation and interest-rate expectations that could influence bank earnings and net interest income. Wells Fargo sees writing on the wall about the next Fed rate cut
• Negative Sentiment: Broader financial stocks weakened in the latest session, which may be adding pressure to Wells Fargo as part of a sector-wide move lower. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Fall Wednesday

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $73.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $224.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.