Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Position Lifted by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments increased its Wells Fargo position by 19.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 214,893 shares valued at approximately $17.2 million. Other institutional investors also raised their stakes, and institutions collectively own 75.9% of WFC stock.
• Wells Fargo exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $1.96 per share versus the $1.73 consensus, while revenue rose 8.6% year over year to $22.62 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $99.47, although Wells Fargo faces risks from a HUD fair-lending investigation and pressure from rising bond yields.

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,560 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.7% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 17,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.6% during the third quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. now owns 4,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vann Equity Management LLC now owns 5,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 32,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $82.08 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $248.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $95 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. TD Cowen Wells Fargo analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was unusually strong, with traders purchasing 88,948 WFC call contracts—more than double the average daily volume. This suggests increased short-term bullish speculation, though options activity is not a guarantee of future gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley recently upgraded Wells Fargo to Overweight, named it a top pick, and assigned a $102 target, reinforcing the view that the stock’s valuation may be attractive after its recent reset. Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly discussing a potential agreement with Kraken parent Payward to provide liquidity for crypto trading. The deal could expand fee-generating capabilities, but discussions are preliminary, unconfirmed, and carry regulatory and execution risks. Wells Fargo Payward crypto liquidity discussions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are preparing for Wells Fargo’s third-quarter 2026 results, with attention on revenue, net interest income, credit quality, and expense trends. The earnings preview itself does not provide a new estimate or guidance change. Wells Fargo third-quarter earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating whether Wells Fargo’s programs intended to increase Black and minority homeownership violated fair-lending laws. The probe creates potential legal costs, reputational damage, and renewed concerns about regulatory scrutiny—pressuring the stock after the report. Wells Fargo HUD lending probe
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that sharply rising bond yields can pressure banks through higher funding costs, unrealized securities losses, and weaker loan demand ahead of third-quarter results. Banks under pressure from rising yields

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $107.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.50 to $91.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.47.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and government entities. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal and commercial loans, mortgages, payment services, and other deposit and credit products.

The company also provides investment banking, capital markets, brokerage, advisory, asset management, and retirement services through its corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management businesses.

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