Prudential PLC Increases Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 205,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,013 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% in the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 4,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Consulting Group raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the third quarter. Weaver Consulting Group now owns 7,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technically deeply oversold and analyst support could spark a relief bounce — MarketBeat notes WFC is trading well below recent highs, its RSI is in oversold territory, and several outlets/analysts maintain Outperform/Buy ratings and high price targets that imply significant upside if sentiment stabilizes. Bargain Alert: Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Look Deeply Oversold
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic optionality in digital assets — filings show Wells Fargo has applied for a WFUSD trademark covering stablecoins and blockchain payment services, signaling a possible future new revenue stream (still speculative and regulatory-dependent). Wells Fargo Submits WFUSD Trademark Application
• Neutral Sentiment: Active analyst research flow — Wells Fargo analysts continue to move ratings/targets across sectors (cuts on Aptiv, upgrades in chemicals, positive calls on travel and retail names). This shows robust research activity that can influence trading in other names but is not directly catalytic for WFC’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo Cuts Aptiv Price Target Wells Fargo Upgrades Chemical Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings, revenue and operational concerns remain — MarketBeat highlights that WFC missed revenue/earnings expectations in January, has a relatively high efficiency ratio vs. peers, and saw headline risk from reported exposure to the failed U.K. mortgage finance firm Market Financial Solutions; those issues help explain selling pressure and could limit near-term multiple expansion. Bargain Alert: Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs Look Deeply Oversold

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $74.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.47. The company has a market cap of $228.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.71%.

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.