Aviva PLC Increases Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Aviva PLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.66 million shares valued at about $248.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with Wells Fargo carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $97.53 despite some recent target cuts and mixed analyst views.
• Wells Fargo reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.60 and continued to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, while new headlines point to both upside from stronger net interest income and downside from a DOJ subpoena related to a debanking probe.

Aviva PLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,664,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 104,395 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.08% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $248,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after buying an additional 1,760,484 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after buying an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,128,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $763,675,000 after buying an additional 174,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 8,258,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $769,649,000 after buying an additional 471,979 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $82.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $252.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $79.50 and a 200 day moving average of $84.67. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.93 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated a roughly $50 billion 2026 net interest income target and signaled stronger second-quarter NII, which suggests earnings momentum could improve if loan and deposit trends hold. Wells Fargo’s Long-Dated Funding And NII Outlook Might Change The Case For Investing In WFC
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo continues to attract attention as a dividend stock, reinforcing its appeal for income-focused investors and supporting the valuation case. Why Wells Fargo (WFC) is a Top Dividend Stock for Your Portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo Advisors’ FiNet unit added a $650 million advisory team from Stifel, a modest sign of franchise growth in wealth management. Wells Fargo’s FiNet Recruits $650 Million Team From Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also received more supportive coverage around a $1.2 million community grant, which highlights capital-allocation and community-impact efforts but is unlikely to materially move the stock. Wells Fargo Grant Highlights Community Focus And Potential Valuation Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Headlines that the DOJ subpoenaed Wells Fargo in a widening debanking probe add regulatory overhang and could pressure sentiment until there is more clarity. JPMorgan, BofA, Wells Fargo Subpoenaed By DOJ In Trump's Explosive 'Debanking' Crackdown: Report

Wells Fargo & Company 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.

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