Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Holdings Lowered by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its Wells Fargo stake by 3.8% in Q4, selling 684,784 shares and leaving it with 17,174,896 shares (about $1.60 billion), while institutional investors now own roughly 75.9% of the stock.
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers recently — 115,000 shares were sold over the last three months, including EVP Ellen R. Patterson's 60,000-share sale — leaving insiders with just 0.14% ownership.
• Analysts hold a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $97.70; the stock trades near $85.43, has a P/E of 13.6 and yields about 2.1% after a $0.45 quarterly dividend.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,174,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 684,784 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.55% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $1,600,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares in the last quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 1,522,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $121,968,000 after buying an additional 15,460 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts have nudged Q1 earnings/revenue estimates higher and highlighted incremental strength ahead of the April 14 report; management changes (new head of Business Banking) are being viewed as constructive. Wells Fargo Likely To Report Higher Q1 Earnings; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market relief after a temporary ceasefire in the Middle East pushed oil prices lower and lifted bank stocks, giving Wells Fargo a short-term boost ahead of earnings. Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings previews expect solid revenue and EPS growth but flag mortgage volume/margin weakness and higher credit costs as offsets — this creates binary risk: beat could lift the shares, a miss or weak guidance could pressure them. Wells Fargo Q1 Earnings on the Deck: What's in Store for the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Deeper previews examine key metrics beyond headline EPS — look for details on net interest margin, mortgage pipelines, trading revenue and loan-loss provisioning for clearer direction. Countdown to Wells Fargo (WFC) Q1 Earnings: Wall Street Forecasts for Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector-wide previews (JPM, C, WFC) suggest banks could benefit from easing macro oil/geo fears, but risks to asset quality and rising costs remain a moderating factor. What Can Investors Expect from Bank Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target on WFC (flagging bank-sector volatility and risks), which can amplify downside if Wells Fargo misses or issues cautious guidance. JPMorgan Trims Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) Target, Flags Volatility Risks for Banks
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports note pessimistic near-term forecasts for WFC from some sell-side commentary — negative headlines or analyst downgrades ahead of earnings could pressure the share price. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC Stock Price
• Negative Sentiment: Despite occasional daily gains, Wells Fargo has recently underperformed peers — an underperformance trend can weigh on sentiment if earnings don’t show clear improvement. Wells Fargo & Co. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WFC. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.70.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $85.43 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.19. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $59.65 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a market cap of $263.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

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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