Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 34.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,013 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.9% in the second 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 buying an additional 5,894,747 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after buying an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,307 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,165,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $74.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.47.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technically deeply oversold and analyst support could spark a relief bounce — MarketBeat notes WFC is trading well below recent highs, its RSI is in oversold territory, and several outlets/analysts maintain Outperform/Buy ratings and high price targets that imply significant upside if sentiment stabilizes. Bargain Alert: Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Look Deeply Oversold
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic optionality in digital assets — filings show Wells Fargo has applied for a WFUSD trademark covering stablecoins and blockchain payment services, signaling a possible future new revenue stream (still speculative and regulatory-dependent). Wells Fargo Submits WFUSD Trademark Application
• Neutral Sentiment: Active analyst research flow — Wells Fargo analysts continue to move ratings/targets across sectors (cuts on Aptiv, upgrades in chemicals, positive calls on travel and retail names). This shows robust research activity that can influence trading in other names but is not directly catalytic for WFC’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo Cuts Aptiv Price Target Wells Fargo Upgrades Chemical Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings, revenue and operational concerns remain — MarketBeat highlights that WFC missed revenue/earnings expectations in January, has a relatively high efficiency ratio vs. peers, and saw headline risk from reported exposure to the failed U.K. mortgage finance firm Market Financial Solutions; those issues help explain selling pressure and could limit near-term multiple expansion. Bargain Alert: Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Look Deeply Oversold

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. CICC Research assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Capital cut Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.