Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Wells Fargo stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 648,512 additional shares and bringing its holding to 7.28 million shares worth about $678.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also added modestly to their positions, and overall institutional ownership remains high at 75.9% of Wells Fargo’s stock.
• Wells Fargo’s recent updates were mixed: management expects mid-teen growth in investment banking and trading revenue in the second quarter, while analysts still see a Moderate Buy rating with a $97.53 consensus price target despite recent share weakness.

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,283,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 648,512 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.23% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $678,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake 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 valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Simmons Bank raised its stake 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 valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Group LTD raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Charlie Scharf said Wells Fargo expects investment banking and trading revenue to rise by mid-teen percentages in the second quarter, which could support fee income and help offset weakness elsewhere. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: At a Bernstein conference, Wells Fargo highlighted improving momentum in key businesses, reinforcing the case that ongoing operating improvements and a possible easing of regulatory constraints could support the stock over time. Seeking Alpha transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also benefiting indirectly from a broader banking backdrop in which excess cash in funding markets is boosting balance-sheet capacity at large banks, though this is more of an industry tailwind than a Wells Fargo-specific catalyst. Yahoo Finance/Bloomberg article
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo warned that the recent small-cap rally may be masking weakening earnings estimates, low profitability and rising debt, a message that points to a more fragile market backdrop and may weigh on sentiment toward financials. MarketWatch article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that WFC shares have been sliding year to date, reflecting investor concerns about the pace of recovery despite long-term support from digital growth, NII improvement and potential regulatory relief. Zacks article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $76.65 on Friday. 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 $234.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.93 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's 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.

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.