Diversified Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Diversified Management Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 11,594 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after purchasing an additional 22,107 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,639,000 after purchasing an additional 47,946 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $80.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $63.37 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $247.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $21.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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: Q1 profitability and loan growth — Wells Fargo reported higher net income and EPS that beat/held near expectations, and management flagged improving loan growth that could support future NII recoveries. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Trading and fee strength helped results — trading gains and some fee businesses offset parts of the NII shortfall, providing diversification of revenue streams. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cost controls / workforce moves — CEO Charlie Scharf discussed continued headcount reductions (23 consecutive quarters of cuts), which could support margins long term but may raise near?term execution and morale questions. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Digital / AI investment — management highlighted scaling AI and digital capabilities to meet demand; strategic but requires continued investment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and NII missed estimates — the headline driver of the selloff: Q1 revenue and net interest income came in below consensus, raising concerns that margin compression from recent Fed rate cuts could persist into Q2. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price?target cuts and skepticism on ROTCE recovery — multiple firms trimmed WFC targets after the print, signaling doubts about how quickly Wells Fargo can fully restore returns on tangible common equity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical sell signal and heavy volume — shares broke below the 50?day moving average on higher?than?normal volume, amplifying short?term selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Private?credit exposure flagged — Wells Fargo disclosed roughly $36.2B of exposure to private?credit firms, an area under heightened market scrutiny that could concern investors if credit stress rises. Read More.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WFC. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.75.

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.