LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires 62,764 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 97.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 126,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,764 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary remain upbeat on Wells Fargo’s upcoming results, with expectations for higher net interest income and fee income to support earnings. The stock is also benefiting from a “moderate buy” consensus and renewed interest in bank earnings ahead of the reporting season.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo was cited as a bullish name in sector research, and the broader banking group is seen as positioned for solid Q2 results, which could lift financial stocks if the trend holds.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles focused on Wells Fargo mostly previewed the earnings release rather than delivering new company-specific news, so investors are still waiting for a catalyst from the actual report.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market news was mixed but relatively calm, with futures drifting and investors waiting for inflation data and earnings season, which suggests WFC’s move is more tied to positioning than to any fresh negative headline.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $86.50 to $93.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.34.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WFC traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.07. 14,053,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,508,680. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.67 and its 200-day moving average is $84.03. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $266.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.