Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stake Increased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its Wells Fargo stake by 33.6% in the third quarter, adding 32,050 shares to hold 127,539 shares valued at approximately $10.2 million.
• Wells Fargo reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share, or $2.00 annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with TD Cowen and Morgan Stanley issuing bullish views; however, Wells Fargo faces risks from a HUD fair-lending investigation and pressure from rising bond yields.

Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 33.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,050 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $95 price target, implying meaningful upside from recent trading levels. TD Cowen Wells Fargo analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity was unusually strong, with traders purchasing 88,948 WFC call contracts—more than double the average daily volume. This suggests increased short-term bullish speculation, though options activity is not a guarantee of future gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley recently upgraded Wells Fargo to Overweight, named it a top pick, and assigned a $102 target, reinforcing the view that the stock’s valuation may be attractive after its recent reset. Morgan Stanley Wells Fargo upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly discussing a potential agreement with Kraken parent Payward to provide liquidity for crypto trading. The deal could expand fee-generating capabilities, but discussions are preliminary, unconfirmed, and carry regulatory and execution risks. Wells Fargo Payward crypto liquidity discussions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are preparing for Wells Fargo’s third-quarter 2026 results, with attention on revenue, net interest income, credit quality, and expense trends. The earnings preview itself does not provide a new estimate or guidance change. Wells Fargo third-quarter earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating whether Wells Fargo’s programs intended to increase Black and minority homeownership violated fair-lending laws. The probe creates potential legal costs, reputational damage, and renewed concerns about regulatory scrutiny—pressuring the stock after the report. Wells Fargo HUD lending probe
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note that sharply rising bond yields can pressure banks through higher funding costs, unrealized securities losses, and weaker loan demand ahead of third-quarter results. Banks under pressure from rising yields

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.3%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $82.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $248.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is 29.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.50 to $91.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $102.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.47.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to individuals, businesses, institutions, and government entities. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, personal and commercial loans, mortgages, payment services, and other deposit and credit products.

The company also provides investment banking, capital markets, brokerage, advisory, asset management, and retirement services through its corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management businesses.

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