Primecap Management Co. CA Makes New $554.68 Million Investment in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,712,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $554,681,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $312,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Services increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 16,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% in the second quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.61.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo is stepping up efforts to recruit independent financial advisers after a reported $1.5 billion overhaul of its wealth-management business. Expanding the adviser network could increase assets under management, fee revenue and the division’s long-term growth prospects. Wells Fargo Makes New Push to Recruit Wealth Managers
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison with PNC Financial characterized WFC as offering a lower valuation and improving efficiency, supporting the view that the stock may have additional value potential despite PNC’s stronger growth and dividend yield. Wells Fargo vs. PNC Financial: Which Stock Offers Better Upside Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank’s most recent quarterly results provide a supportive backdrop: earnings and revenue exceeded analyst expectations, with revenue rising year over year. However, the stock’s valuation and outlook remain sensitive to interest rates, loan growth and credit costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo is reportedly foreclosing on Workspace Property Trust’s $1.3 billion property portfolio after falling occupancy and asset values increased financial stress. Recovering collateral could limit losses, but the action underscores commercial real-estate exposure and potential pressure on credit quality. Wells Fargo Forecloses On $1.3B Workspace Property Trust Loan

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $85.00 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.68.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 17.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

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.