Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by Greenwood Gearhart Inc.

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 226.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,700 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,638,000. M&G PLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% in 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 in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $173,651,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,165,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WFC. HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.53.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $75.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

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.