World Investment Advisors Purchases 21,282 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its Wells Fargo stake by 22% in the fourth quarter, buying 21,282 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 117,808 shares worth about $10.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and overall institutional ownership stands at 75.9% of Wells Fargo’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on WFC: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $97.53 target, while Wells Fargo also reported earnings that beat EPS estimates and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share.

World Investment Advisors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,282 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $10,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,652,000 after acquiring an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 7,368 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% in the second quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo to Buy and set a $98 price target, reinforcing the view that the shares still have meaningful upside after a recent pullback. Wells Fargo (WFC) Upgraded to ‘Buy’ with $98 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Another recent piece argued Wells Fargo could be set for roughly 16% upside, reflecting improving sentiment around the bank’s valuation after the selloff. Wells Fargo Set for 16% Upside Despite Recent Selloff
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s own analysts also remained active in other markets, with coverage on Nvidia and crypto ETF positioning, which may have kept the firm in the news but is not directly tied to WFC’s fundamentals. Top Wells Fargo Analyst Lifts Nvidia Stock Price Target Ahead of Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo also disclosed a larger first-quarter stake in Ether ETFs and a bigger position in Strategy, signaling continued interest in digital assets, but this is more of a portfolio update than a direct stock catalyst. Wells Fargo lifts Ether ETF holdings in Q1 as Bitcoin positions shift
• Negative Sentiment: The broader financial sector fell on Wednesday, with the NYSE Financial Index down 0.8%, which may have pressured Wells Fargo shares as part of an industry-wide move lower. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Fall Wednesday

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WFC. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $73.52 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

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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