Highview Capital Management LLC DE Makes New $1.98 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Highview Capital Management LLC DE established a new position in Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) in Q4, buying 21,191 shares valued at approximately $1.98 million.
• Large institutional ownership remains high at 75.90%, with major funds (e.g., Capital Research Global Investors) increasing stakes and analysts showing a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $97.75.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: EVPs Ellen R. Patterson and Kleber Santos sold a combined 85,000 shares (part of 115,000 shares sold by insiders in the last 90 days), totaling about $10.05 million, leaving insiders with just 0.14% ownership.

Highview Capital Management LLC DE bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,975,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,760,994,000 after buying an additional 399,088 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,859,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,998,000 after buying an additional 1,223,999 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,128,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $763,675,000 after buying an additional 174,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 7,673,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $643,219,000 after buying an additional 165,240 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional/angel endorsement — WFC was listed among "12 High Dividend Stocks" picked by billionaire Ray Dalio, which can attract income-focused investors and support demand for the shares. Is Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Among the 12 High Dividend Stocks Picked by Billionaire Ray Dalio?
• Positive Sentiment: Management signaling a supportive rate backdrop — CEO Charlie Scharf said the U.S. economy is "extremely strong" and warned against cutting interest rates prematurely given geopolitical uncertainty; longer-higher rates generally widen bank net interest margins, a positive for WFC earnings. Wells Fargo CEO says reducing interest rates before seeing end to Iran conflict would be a mistake
• Neutral Sentiment: Price-target trim but rating held — Morgan Stanley lowered its WFC price target slightly (from $100 to $97) while keeping an Equal Weight rating; this is a modest signal that expectations were nudged but not a full bearish re-rate. Is Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Among the 12 High Dividend Stocks Picked by Billionaire Ray Dalio?
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm research/newsflow unrelated to core bank operations — Wells Fargo research views (e.g., a provocative gold forecast) and its analyst commentary on other stocks (like Sandisk) are informational but don’t directly change WFC’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo says gold could nearly double to $8,000 an ounce — even after its worst monthly drop in a decade
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade and lower target — KGI Securities downgraded WFC to Hold from Outperform and set an $88 target, reflecting more cautious near-term sentiment following the quarterly results; downgrades can weigh on momentum and investor sentiment. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Gets Downgraded to Hold by KGI Securities
• Negative Sentiment: Loss of a fintech lending relationship — Reporting notes that Wells told fintech Bilt it would no longer serve as lender for Bilt’s credit card, a sign of selective fintech partnering and potential lost growth avenues in consumer card origination. Private Credit’s Consumer Debt Holdings Jump $150 Billion Since 2019

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. CICC Research began coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.75.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $81.95 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.17. The company has a market cap of $252.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.06. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $63.40 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The company had revenue of $21.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.

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