California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its stake in Wells Fargo by 3.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 6.85 million shares worth about $545.5 million.
• Wells Fargo posted better-than-expected Q2 results, with adjusted EPS of $1.96 versus the $1.72 estimate, helped by higher fee income, investment banking activity, and net interest income.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms raising price targets or rating the stock positively; MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.50.

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,852,010 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 215,578 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $545,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 19,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 5,036 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 330.9% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 10,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,247 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results, with adjusted EPS of $1.96 topping Wall Street’s $1.72 estimate, driven by higher fee income, investment banking activity and net interest income. Wells Fargo CEO Says America Is Still Spending Big—Even With Inflation Concerns
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting growing optimism about its earnings outlook and adding another bullish signal for investors. Wells Fargo (WFC) Upgraded to Buy: Here's What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive after the bank’s earnings beat, with industry commentary highlighting strong Q2 performance across major banks including Wells Fargo. Revving Up Returns: Big Banks Race Through the Rate Plateau (WFC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also appeared in commentary noting that big bank earnings beat estimates, but some of the profit strength came from lower loan-loss reserves, which may be less repeatable going forward. Revving Up Returns: Big Banks Race Through the Rate Plateau (WFC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s housing-market index showed weaker homebuilder confidence in July, a modest macroeconomic headwind for the bank’s mortgage-related business. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Deteriorates In July

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $87.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $267.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.77.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm 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 firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.50.

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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