Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock Holdings Boosted by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 160,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 22,646 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after buying an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,994,000 after buying an additional 399,088 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,128,470 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $763,675,000 after buying an additional 174,350 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 8,258,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $769,649,000 after buying an additional 471,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,726,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $563,781,000 after buying an additional 529,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo launched Advisor Gateway, a new desktop platform for financial advisors that gives access to more than 200 tools and applications. Investors may see this as a sign the bank is investing in technology and advisor productivity, which could support fee growth and client retention. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Launches Advisor Gateway, Here’s What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame WFC as undervalued, with cost cuts and efficiency improvements potentially helping the bank reach its 17%–18% ROTCE target. That supports the case for earnings leverage if management executes well. WFC’s Efficiency Story: Will Cost Cuts Lift ROTCE to Its Target Level?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street reaction to the recent $110 million discrimination settlement has been relatively muted to constructive, with commentary noting a buy-skewed analyst consensus and insider buying. That suggests investors may be looking past the legal overhang. Wall Street’s Verdict on Wells Fargo After the $110 Million Discrimination Settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: One article on Wells Fargo’s revised price target for Alphabet is only indirectly relevant to WFC and does not appear to be a direct driver of the stock today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several repeat items discuss the same Advisor Gateway launch and efficiency/cost-cutting story, reinforcing the same theme rather than adding a new catalyst.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $76.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $71.89 and a 52-week high of $97.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.