Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock Position Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $13,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,610,000 after purchasing an additional 84,902 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,673,000 after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,446,000 after buying an additional 17,302 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,512,563,000. Finally, Winning Points Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,384,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors have been rotating from high-flying artificial-intelligence stocks into financial shares, creating broader momentum for banks such as Wells Fargo. Risk-On Momentum in Bank Stocks Echoes Aftermath of Dot-Com Bust
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s investment case is strengthened by the expected removal of its asset cap, potential net-interest-income growth and shareholder capital returns. The stock has gained 20.5% over three months, though investors are evaluating whether that momentum can continue. WFC Stock Gains 20.5% in 3 Months: Buy, Hold or Sell the Stock Now?
• Positive Sentiment: The bank’s tokenized-deposit launch for corporate and commercial clients could expand payment and settlement capabilities, while new debt and preferred-share offerings support its broader post-asset-cap investment strategy. Is Wells Fargo’s Tokenized Deposit Push Reshaping Its Post-Cap Investment Story?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $93.50 to $95.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.61.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $88.13 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $266.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.06.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 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.