Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its Wells Fargo stake by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 51,199 shares and ending with 536,101 shares valued at about $49.96 million.
• Wells Fargo reported Q1 earnings of $1.60 per share, topping estimates by a small margin, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, or $1.80 annually.
• Recent headlines were mixed: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein conference and benefited from stronger housing sentiment and investment-banking activity, but it also agreed to a $110 million discrimination settlement that could pressure sentiment.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lowered its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 536,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 51,199 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $49,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping management visible to investors and potentially reinforcing the bank’s strategy and outlook. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May from 34 in April, a sign that homebuilder sentiment is improving and could support loan demand in the housing market. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other banks moved up league tables after helping arrange NextEra Energy’s $67 billion deal for Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking activity. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Wells Fargo’s preferred shares offer a discounted yield opportunity with interest-rate optionality, which is more of an investor commentary piece than a direct company catalyst. Wells Fargo Long Duration Preferred: Safe Yield, Discount To Par, And Interest Rate Optionality
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement over lending and hiring discrimination claims, including a $100 million borrower-assistance fund, which may weigh on sentiment despite removing legal uncertainty. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.03 and a 200 day moving average of $85.46. The company has a market cap of $228.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a 12-month low of $71.89 and a 12-month high of $97.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The firm's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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