Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Acquired by Capital Research Global Investors

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors increased its Wells Fargo stake by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, adding more than 1.76 million shares and bringing its total holdings to about 37.4 million shares valued at roughly $3.49 billion.
• Wells Fargo continues to draw mixed but generally constructive analyst attention: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $97.53, even as a few firms trimmed targets or downgraded the shares.
• The bank recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.60, beating expectations, and also announced a $0.45 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.2% annualized yield.

Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,760,484 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 1.19% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $3,487,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 3,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Group LTD grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Wells Fargo after management offered a strong outlook, with coverage showing a majority Buy rating and implied upside to the shares. Street Bullish on Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) After CEO Offered Strong Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is also part of a planned shared tokenized deposit network led by The Clearing House, suggesting the bank is positioning itself for faster, blockchain-based payments and a new growth avenue. Big Banks Launch Tokenized Deposit Network to Fight Off Stablecoin Threat
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting that Wells Fargo is a trending stock points to heightened investor attention, but it does not add new fundamentals by itself. Is Trending Stock Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s role in the tokenized-deposit network was reiterated in separate reports, reinforcing the strategic theme rather than signaling an immediate financial impact. Tokenized Deposits Set Up Banking’s Next Network Race

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $82.06 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $251.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.70. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.93 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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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