Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,215,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,434 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $113,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $215,638,000. M&G PLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,245,307 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $173,651,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $147,165,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $74.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.54. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $71.89 and a 12 month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May, signaling a modest rebound in homebuilder confidence and supporting a more constructive outlook for mortgage and housing-related banking activity. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Lazard moved up league tables on NextEra Energy’s $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking deal activity that could support fee income. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo settled a lawsuit alleging hiring and lending discrimination for $110 million, including a $100 million fund for eligible borrowers in certain low- and moderate-income areas. The agreement removes uncertainty, but it also underscores continued legal and reputational risk. Wells Fargo settles lawsuit alleging hiring, lending discrimination
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg Law reported that Wells Fargo’s $110 million discrimination settlement was approved, confirming the charge but reducing litigation uncertainty going forward. Wells Fargo’s $110 Million Discrimination Settlement is Approved
• Neutral Sentiment: News about Wells Fargo’s call on Disney is not directly material to WFC’s earnings outlook, though it reflects ongoing research activity from the bank’s analysts. Disney (DIS) Still Has Significant Upside Potential, Says Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier market coverage noted Wells Fargo extending losses alongside Bank of America in a weak broader financials tape, suggesting some sector pressure may still be weighing on the shares. Bank of America, Wells Fargo extend losses; Japanese firms in gainers: week’s financials wrap

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.