Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 37,025 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its Wells Fargo stake by 1.1% in the first quarter, selling 37,025 shares and ending with 3.46 million shares valued at about $275.5 million.
• Wells Fargo reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $2.00 and revenue of $22.62 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations and up from a year earlier.
• The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share and continues to attract mostly positive analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $98.34.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,460,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,025 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $275,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,289,000 after buying an additional 13,196 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,610,000 after acquiring an additional 84,902 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,673,000 after acquiring an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,446,000 after acquiring an additional 17,302 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 283,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,770,000 after purchasing an additional 32,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $85.73 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $262.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.27. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.98 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, HSBC raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.34.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo beat Wall Street estimates with second-quarter EPS of about $2.00 and revenue of $22.62 billion, helped by broad-based growth across fee income, wealth management, investment banking, and trading. Wells Fargo Beats Second-Quarter Estimates Amid Broad-Based Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The bank said profit rose 17%, with higher loan growth boosting interest income and volatile markets supporting trading desks, which points to improving core earnings momentum. Wells Fargo profit jumps on interest income boost, trading windfall
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strength in wealth management and investment banking, including growth in corporate and investment banking revenue and a healthy deal pipeline, which may support future revenue. Wells Fargo Profit Beats Estimates on Wealth, Investment Banking
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced an 11% dividend increase and a $3 billion share repurchase, which is supportive for shareholders but largely expected given the strong quarter. Wells Fargo CEO Says America Is Still Spending Big—Even With Inflation Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market news and a cooler-than-expected CPI reading also lifted financial stocks overall, providing a supportive backdrop for the sector. June CPI Goes Negative on Low Oil Prices, Banks Report for Q2
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, some articles noted the stock faded as investors worried about higher expenses, margin pressure, and whether strong results would be enough to drive further upside after a run-up. Big Bank Earnings Preview: Bank of America, JPMorgan Stocks Starting to Rally — Will This Laggard Be Next?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary framed the reaction as a sell-the-news move across big banks, suggesting investors may be using the earnings release to lock in gains rather than chase the stock higher. Wall Street Lunch: Big Banks Fall Despite Upbeat Earnings

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.