Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Sells 103,950 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates cut its Wells Fargo stake by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 103,950 shares and leaving it with 577,544 shares valued at about $53.8 million.
• Wells Fargo recently reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.60 versus $1.58 expected, though revenue missed estimates despite year-over-year growth of 6.4%.
• The bank also reaffirmed upbeat guidance, with management expecting net interest income to rise and analysts maintaining a generally favorable view, including a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 577,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 103,950 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $53,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 30,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 24,259 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,261,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 4,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Swan Global Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 11,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s CFO said the bank expects net interest income to rise this quarter and reaffirmed its full-year target of about $50 billion, which supports the case for stronger core profitability as loan growth improves. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Management also signaled mid-teens growth in its markets business for the second quarter and reiterated its NII guidance, reinforcing investor confidence that Wells Fargo can deliver stable revenue momentum. MSN/Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view WFC favorably, with one Bank of America Securities note reiterating a Buy rating and an unchanged $95 price target, suggesting attractive risk-reward if earnings execution holds. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also highlighted support for community investment, including a $1.2 million grant to Urban Strategies Inc. for economic mobility and entrepreneurship initiatives, which is positive for reputation but likely limited in near-term stock impact. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo presented at the Morgan Stanley US Financials Conference, where investors typically look for updates on strategy and performance, but no major new surprise was highlighted in the headline. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage noted WFC stock underperformed the broader market on Monday, and insider selling headlines may reinforce caution among traders in the short term. MarketWatch article

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:WFC opened at $81.99 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $79.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.68. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.93 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $250.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.93.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFC. 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. HSBC raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.53.

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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