Intech Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 262,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 549,079 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $21,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,635,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,851,000 after acquiring an additional 5,894,747 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,307 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,165,868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,180,693 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 8,010.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,973,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.4%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $86.63 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $91.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.37. The company has a market capitalization of $271.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, HSBC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.03.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sharp drop in short interest — Short interest fell ~16.7% in February to ~26.7M shares (about 0.8% of float), lowering potential downward pressure and reducing a short-squeeze risk; shorter days-to-cover (1.7) supports cleaner buy-side momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership hire for business banking — Wells Fargo named Devine to lead Business Banking, signaling focus on commercial growth and execution that can support loan and fee revenue expansion. Wells Fargo Names Devine to Lead Business Banking
• Positive Sentiment: Broker commentary and price action pickup — Market coverage noting the stock’s intraday strength draws attention and can reinforce momentum among investors. Wells Fargo (WFC) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
• Neutral Sentiment: Full redemption of Series BB preferred stock — WFC will redeem all outstanding Series BB preferred shares in mid-March; this removes a small class of perpetual preferred shares (and related dividends) but uses cash and modestly alters capital structure. Wells Fargo & Company Announces Full Redemption of its Series-BB Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity and thematic calls — Wells Fargo analysts remain active (e.g., on Ticketmaster parent), which keeps the firm visible in research flows but is not a direct WFC fundamental change. Ticketmaster antitrust risks are easing, making its parent company’s stock a buy, says Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Relative underperformance vs. benchmarks — Coverage points out WFC has lagged the Nasdaq over the past year, a potential concern for momentum investors and a reason some funds may underweight the stock. Is Wells Fargo Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?
• Negative Sentiment: Peer moves and market-cap ranking — HSBC beating and raising guidance highlights competitive pressure in global banking and briefly pushed HSBC ahead of Wells Fargo by market cap, a reminder of relative performance risks. HSBC reports a beat and a raise as it leapfrogs Wells Fargo by market cap

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.