Payden & Rygel Reduces Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Payden & Rygel trimmed its Wells Fargo stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 34,400 shares and leaving the firm with 315,000 shares valued at about $29.4 million. Wells Fargo now makes up roughly 2.0% of the fund’s holdings.
• Wells Fargo has seen mixed recent signals from investors and insiders: several hedge funds increased their positions, but company executives also sold shares, with insiders offloading 115,000 shares worth about $10.05 million over the last 90 days.
• The bank’s fundamentals and outlook remain solid but not without risks, as it beat quarterly EPS estimates, paid a 2.4% dividend yield, and drew generally positive analyst ratings, while also facing a $110 million discrimination settlement and some sector pressure on the stock.

Payden & Rygel reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 34,400 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises approximately 2.0% of Payden & Rygel's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $29,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 7,368 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May, signaling a modest rebound in homebuilder confidence and supporting a more constructive outlook for mortgage and housing-related banking activity. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Lazard moved up league tables on NextEra Energy’s $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking deal activity that could support fee income. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo settled a lawsuit alleging hiring and lending discrimination for $110 million, including a $100 million fund for eligible borrowers in certain low- and moderate-income areas. The agreement removes uncertainty, but it also underscores continued legal and reputational risk. Wells Fargo settles lawsuit alleging hiring, lending discrimination
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg Law reported that Wells Fargo’s $110 million discrimination settlement was approved, confirming the charge but reducing litigation uncertainty going forward. Wells Fargo’s $110 Million Discrimination Settlement is Approved
• Neutral Sentiment: News about Wells Fargo’s call on Disney is not directly material to WFC’s earnings outlook, though it reflects ongoing research activity from the bank’s analysts. Disney (DIS) Still Has Significant Upside Potential, Says Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier market coverage noted Wells Fargo extending losses alongside Bank of America in a weak broader financials tape, suggesting some sector pressure may still be weighing on the shares. Bank of America, Wells Fargo extend losses; Japanese firms in gainers: week's financials wrap

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $74.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $79.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.54. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $71.89 and a 52-week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. KGI Securities cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.53.

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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