Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust Purchases New Shares in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 65,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,146,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 1.6% of Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd as trustee for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at about $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the third 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 grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% in the third 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. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Charlie Scharf said Wells Fargo expects investment banking and trading revenue to grow by mid-teen percentages in the second quarter, signaling improving fee-based momentum and helping support the bank’s earnings outlook. Wells Fargo CEO sees mid-teens growth in investment banking, trading
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also highlighted mortgage incentives tied to ICON’s 3D-printed homes, showing efforts to expand lending opportunities and grow originations in niche housing markets. Wells Fargo to offer mortgage incentives on 3D printed homes with Icon
• Neutral Sentiment: The company presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which may have kept Wells Fargo in focus but did not by itself add a major new catalyst. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles reiterated Wells Fargo as a dividend stock and discussed its longer-term recovery potential, but these were largely commentary pieces rather than new fundamental developments. Wells Fargo (WFC) is a Top Dividend Stock Right Now: Should You Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage noted that WFC shares have fallen sharply year to date and were down again after a six-day rally, suggesting investors are still wary about the stock’s near-term momentum. Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Investor attention also remains on Wells Fargo’s still-elevated legal and regulatory overhangs, including a reported $100 million settlement tied to struggling homebuyers. Wells Fargo settlement will pay 100M to help struggling homebuyers in 51 cities

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $76.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $71.93 and a twelve month high of $97.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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 firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.