Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 69,733 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its Wells Fargo stake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 69,733 shares and leaving it with 298,325 shares valued at about $27.8 million.
• Other institutional investors remain heavily invested in Wells Fargo, and institutions overall own 75.9% of the company’s shares. Several large funds increased their positions in recent quarters.
• Wells Fargo recently reported earnings that beat EPS expectations but missed revenue estimates by a wide margin, while analysts still see upside with multiple positive ratings and an average price target of $97.53.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 298,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 69,733 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $27,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584,930 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the third 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position 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 worth $763,675,000 after purchasing an additional 174,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers raised its position 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 worth $769,649,000 after purchasing an additional 471,979 shares during the last quarter. 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 to Buy with a $98 price target, reinforcing the view that the stock remains undervalued and may have room to rebound. Wells Fargo (WFC) Upgraded to ‘Buy’ with $98 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Other recent coverage also argued Wells Fargo still offers meaningful upside, with one report pointing to about 16% upside despite the recent selloff. Wells Fargo Set for 16% Upside Despite Recent Selloff
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s own analyst Ohsung Kwon is making headlines for a broader market call that AI is in an “euphoric” bubble, a comment that reflects the firm’s active market research but does not directly change Wells Fargo’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo: AI is a ‘euphoric’ bubble and investors should ride it until it pops
• Neutral Sentiment: Fresh articles on Wells Fargo’s increased Ether ETF exposure and shifting crypto holdings may signal portfolio repositioning, but they are not likely to move the bank’s stock on their own. Wells Fargo lifts Ether ETF holdings in Q1 as Bitcoin positions shift
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also been weighed by the broader market’s reaction to Wells Fargo’s latest earnings and revenue mix, where EPS beat estimates but revenue came in well below expectations, keeping investors cautious about the pace of growth.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $73.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $71.89 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. The trade was 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 Wells Fargo & Company 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFC. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

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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