North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 110,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,310,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,652,000 after buying an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 22,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 14,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 7,368 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 3,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 8,714 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $73.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $224.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.63. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan reiterated a Hold rating on Wells Fargo and cut its price target to $86.50 from $91, reinforcing a more cautious near-term outlook for the stock. Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Expected To Stay Under Pressure In The Short Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo announced cash dividends on six series of preferred stock, a routine capital return update that should not materially change the near-term outlook for common shares. Wells Fargo & Company Declares Cash Dividends on Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Wells Fargo’s post-earnings performance noted that the stock remains below its recent levels after the company’s latest results, with investors still assessing whether revenue growth can offset higher compensation and technology costs. Wells Fargo Revenues Are Rising, But Can It Bend the Cost Curve?
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s economists changed their view on the timing of the next Fed rate cut, highlighting uncertainty around inflation and interest-rate expectations that could influence bank earnings and net interest income. Wells Fargo sees writing on the wall about the next Fed rate cut
• Negative Sentiment: Broader financial stocks weakened in the latest session, which may be adding pressure to Wells Fargo as part of a sector-wide move lower. Sector Update: Financial Stocks Fall Wednesday

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.