Northbridge Financial Group LLC Takes $917,000 Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Northbridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 93,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,744,000 after buying an additional 23,572 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 61,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,696,000 after buying an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping management visible to investors and potentially reinforcing the bank’s strategy and outlook. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May from 34 in April, a sign that homebuilder sentiment is improving and could support loan demand in the housing market. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other banks moved up league tables after helping arrange NextEra Energy’s $67 billion deal for Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking activity. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Wells Fargo’s preferred shares offer a discounted yield opportunity with interest-rate optionality, which is more of an investor commentary piece than a direct company catalyst. Wells Fargo Long Duration Preferred: Safe Yield, Discount To Par, And Interest Rate Optionality
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement over lending and hiring discrimination claims, including a $100 million borrower-assistance fund, which may weigh on sentiment despite removing legal uncertainty. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $71.89 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.03 and a 200-day moving average of $85.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.