Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stake Boosted by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 95.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 395,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 193,280 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company makes up about 1.1% of Kentucky Retirement Systems' investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $31,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Simmons Bank raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC now owns 7,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. KGI Securities downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $94.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s board approved an 11% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, payable September 1 to shareholders of record on August 7. The annualized payout implies a yield of approximately 2.4% and signals continued confidence in the company’s capital-return capacity. Wells Fargo & Company Increases Common Stock Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target for WFC from $93.50 to $95.50, indicating meaningful potential appreciation from the referenced share price. The higher target reflects a somewhat improved valuation outlook, even though the bank retained a Neutral rating. JPMorgan Raises Wells Fargo Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo analysts raised Snowflake’s price target to $500, citing stronger customer spending and the potential for AI agents to accelerate growth. This could support Wells Fargo’s investment-banking and research franchise, but it has no immediate direct effect on WFC’s earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains cautiously optimistic toward Wells Fargo, while noting that the stock has lagged the broader market over the past year. The mixed assessment suggests investors may want clearer evidence of stronger operating momentum before assigning a higher multiple. Do Wall Street Analysts Like Wells Fargo Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan’s Neutral rating tempers the bullish effect of its target increase, indicating the analyst sees limited conviction in near-term outperformance. Broader market caution ahead of Federal Reserve developments may also be contributing to weakness in financial stocks.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $84.05 on Thursday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $83.38 and its 200-day moving average is $83.22. The stock has a market cap of $257.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 26.16%.

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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