Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,629,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 292,522 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 1.9% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $245,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $81.99 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $71.93 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $250.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.68.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s CFO said the bank expects net interest income to rise this quarter and reaffirmed its full-year target of about $50 billion, which supports the case for stronger core profitability as loan growth improves. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management also signaled mid-teens growth in its markets business for the second quarter and reiterated its NII guidance, reinforcing investor confidence that Wells Fargo can deliver stable revenue momentum. MSN/Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view WFC favorably, with one Bank of America Securities note reiterating a Buy rating and an unchanged $95 price target, suggesting attractive risk-reward if earnings execution holds. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also highlighted support for community investment, including a $1.2 million grant to Urban Strategies Inc. for economic mobility and entrepreneurship initiatives, which is positive for reputation but likely limited in near-term stock impact. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo presented at the Morgan Stanley US Financials Conference, where investors typically look for updates on strategy and performance, but no major new surprise was highlighted in the headline. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage noted WFC stock underperformed the broader market on Monday, and insider selling headlines may reinforce caution among traders in the short term. MarketWatch article

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.