Profund Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Profund Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 22.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,685 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.46. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $228.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.53.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping management visible to investors and potentially reinforcing the bank’s strategy and outlook. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May from 34 in April, a sign that homebuilder sentiment is improving and could support loan demand in the housing market. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other banks moved up league tables after helping arrange NextEra Energy’s $67 billion deal for Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking activity. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Wells Fargo’s preferred shares offer a discounted yield opportunity with interest-rate optionality, which is more of an investor commentary piece than a direct company catalyst. Wells Fargo Long Duration Preferred: Safe Yield, Discount To Par, And Interest Rate Optionality
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement over lending and hiring discrimination claims, including a $100 million borrower-assistance fund, which may weigh on sentiment despite removing legal uncertainty. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement

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.