Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Bought by Trajan Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its Wells Fargo stake by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 17,292 shares and bringing its total holdings to 135,789 shares worth about $12.7 million.
• Insiders sold shares last quarter, including EVP Ellen R. Patterson and EVP Bridget E. Engle, with total insider sales reaching 115,000 shares valued at roughly $10.05 million.
• Wells Fargo reported mixed quarterly results, beating EPS expectations at $1.60 per share, while also declaring a $0.45 quarterly dividend and maintaining a 2.4% yield.

Trajan Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 17,292 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,760,994,000 after acquiring an additional 399,088 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,128,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $763,675,000 after acquiring an additional 174,350 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 8,258,031 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $769,649,000 after acquiring an additional 471,979 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,726,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $563,781,000 after acquiring an additional 529,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE WFC opened at $75.88 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $78.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.39. The firm has a market cap of $232.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement tied to lending and hiring discrimination claims, and the court framed the borrower assistance fund as a step toward expanding equitable access to financial services. The removal of a legal overhang could be viewed as positive for sentiment. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo is also getting attention from brokers and news readers, with recent coverage noting the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and strong investor interest, which supports ongoing trading activity but does not materially change the fundamental story. Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced that CEO Charlie Scharf will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping Wells Fargo in the spotlight and potentially giving management a venue to discuss strategy, but this is more of a near-term event than a direct catalyst. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement news also highlights that Wells Fargo continues to work through legacy legal and regulatory issues, which can weigh on investor confidence even when the financial cost is manageable.
• Negative Sentiment: One analyst note today trimmed Meta Platforms’ price target from Wells Fargo’s research desk, but that update is about Meta rather than Wells Fargo stock itself and is unlikely to be a direct driver for WFC.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WFC. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $94.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.53.

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.

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