Hikari Power Ltd Trims Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Hikari Power Ltd reduced its Wells Fargo stake by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,930 shares and leaving it with 100,070 shares valued at about $9.33 million.
• Wells Fargo has seen mixed institutional and insider activity: several large investors increased holdings, but executives Kleber Santos and Bridget E. Engle both sold shares, and insiders sold 115,000 shares over the last three months.
• The bank’s fundamentals and outlook remain solid but cautious, with Q1 EPS of $1.60 beating estimates, a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, and analysts maintaining a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $97.53.

Hikari Power Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,930 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 0.7% of Hikari Power Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Hikari Power Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position 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 buying an additional 5,584,930 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,760,994,000 after acquiring an additional 399,088 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,859,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,496,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,999 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in 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 period. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) from “moderate buy” to “strong-buy,” reinforcing the view that the bank’s turnaround and earnings strength still have room to run.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary noted that Wells Fargo’s comeback looks real, supported by accelerating loan growth, rising shareholder returns, and stronger customer activity, which could help sustain investor confidence. Wells Fargo’s Comeback Is Real—But Not Risk-Free
• Positive Sentiment: Additional article coverage framed WFC as a potentially attractive dividend stock, which may appeal to income-focused investors looking for a large-cap financial name with improving fundamentals. Wells Fargo (WFC) Could Be a Great Choice
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also heavy put option activity in Wells Fargo, with traders buying 82,048 puts versus a typical volume of 59,215, suggesting some hedging or bearish positioning despite the recent positive coverage.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, Wells Fargo has been active on the research side across other stocks, including a downgrade of Nike and higher price targets on Arm Holdings, but those calls are not direct catalysts for WFC shares.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $94.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. 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. Barclays decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $75.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $231.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $71.89 and a 1-year high of $97.76. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $80.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.11.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is 27.78%.

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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