Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock Position Decreased by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Intact Investment Management cut its stake in Wells Fargo by 38.3% in Q4, selling 21,200 shares and leaving it with 34,100 shares worth about $3.18 million.
• Several large institutions moved in the opposite direction, notably Capital Research Global Investors, which boosted its stake by 18.6% to 35,660,903 shares (≈$2.99 billion), and institutional ownership stands at roughly 75.90%.
• Company insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares over the last 90 days (including EVP Ellen R. Patterson's 60,000 and EVP Bridget E. Engle's 30,000), leaving insiders with 0.14% ownership; Wells Fargo also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share (annualized $1.80, 2.3% yield) payable June 1 with an ex-dividend date of May 8.

Intact Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 38.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,200 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Capital Research Global Investors boosted 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 acquiring an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $215,638,000. M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $247,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,245,307 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $173,651,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $147,165,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $79.27 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.89 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.21. The firm has a market cap of $242.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Argus raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital cut Wells Fargo & Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & 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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