Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,650 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Robert W. Baird raised Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Two research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) from “moderate buy” to “strong-buy,” reinforcing the view that the bank’s turnaround and earnings strength still have room to run.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary noted that Wells Fargo’s comeback looks real, supported by accelerating loan growth, rising shareholder returns, and stronger customer activity, which could help sustain investor confidence. Wells Fargo’s Comeback Is Real—But Not Risk-Free
• Positive Sentiment: Additional article coverage framed WFC as a potentially attractive dividend stock, which may appeal to income-focused investors looking for a large-cap financial name with improving fundamentals. Wells Fargo (WFC) Could Be a Great Choice
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also heavy put option activity in Wells Fargo, with traders buying 82,048 puts versus a typical volume of 59,215, suggesting some hedging or bearish positioning despite the recent positive coverage.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Wells Fargo has been active on the research side across other stocks, including a downgrade of Nike and higher price targets on Arm Holdings, but those calls are not direct catalysts for WFC shares.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of WFC opened at $75.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.89 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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 firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 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.