Trajan Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,292 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently 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 the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $75.88 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $232.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.39. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial reduced 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 report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement tied to lending and hiring discrimination claims, and the court framed the borrower assistance fund as a step toward expanding equitable access to financial services. The removal of a legal overhang could be viewed as positive for sentiment. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo is also getting attention from brokers and news readers, with recent coverage noting the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and strong investor interest, which supports ongoing trading activity but does not materially change the fundamental story. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced that CEO Charlie Scharf will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping Wells Fargo in the spotlight and potentially giving management a venue to discuss strategy, but this is more of a near-term event than a direct catalyst. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement news also highlights that Wells Fargo continues to work through legacy legal and regulatory issues, which can weigh on investor confidence even when the financial cost is manageable.
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst note today trimmed Meta Platforms’ price target from Wells Fargo’s research desk, but that update is about Meta rather than Wells Fargo stock itself and is unlikely to be a direct driver for WFC.

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.