Main Street Research LLC Reduces Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Main Street Research LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,239 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.52 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.89 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.24. The company has a market cap of $234.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.96. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company 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%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Wells Fargo & 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.