Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,317 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,633 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $60,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Simmons Bank lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 32,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,021,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group now owns 5,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo declared quarterly cash dividends on six series of preferred stock. The announcement provides clarity for income-focused investors and signals that the bank continues to support its preferred-capital structure. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis suggests WFC could be about 10% undervalued despite strong gains over the past three months, supporting the view that valuation may still leave room for additional appreciation. Wells Fargo Could Be 10% Undervalued After Preferred Dividend Declaration
• Positive Sentiment: Investors have been rotating from weaker-performing artificial-intelligence stocks into financials, creating a favorable sector backdrop for Wells Fargo and other banks. Risk-On Momentum in Bank Stocks Echoes Aftermath of Dot-Com Bust
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s latest earnings exceeded expectations, with $1.96 in earnings per share and $22.62 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 8.6% year over year. Analysts continue to focus on potential net-interest-income growth, asset-cap removal and increased capital returns. WFC Stock Gains 20.5% in 3 Months: Buy, Hold or Sell the Stock Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is expanding its post-asset-cap strategy through tokenized deposits for corporate clients and new long-term debt and depositary-share offerings. The initiatives could improve payment capabilities and investment capacity, but their financial impact remains uncertain. Is Wells Fargo’s Tokenized Deposit Push Reshaping Its Post-Cap Investment Story?
• Negative Sentiment: After a roughly 20% three-month advance, valuation and profit-taking risks could limit near-term upside, making investors more sensitive to execution on growth and regulatory milestones. Why Is Wells Fargo Up Since Last Earnings Report?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $88.74 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $72.78 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $268.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.06.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.07%.

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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