Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 240,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,117,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,635,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,851,000 after purchasing an additional 5,894,747 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,165,868,000 after buying an additional 2,180,693 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8,010.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,973,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,135,000 after buying an additional 1,949,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 939.6% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,920,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,894,000 after buying an additional 1,736,036 shares during the period. 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: Asset?cap lift enabling growth — management is ramping lending and growth initiatives now that the Fed’s asset cap is gone, which supports higher future loan volumes and revenue potential. Freed from Asset Cap, Wells Fargo Ramps up Lending
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat — Wells Fargo reported EPS above consensus (helping underlying profitability) even as revenue missed estimates; management flagged improving core profitability and stronger wealth results. Wells Fargo posts earnings beat but revenue misses expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Insider/insider?adjacent buying — a disclosed purchase by Sen. John Boozman was reported, which some investors view as a modest signal of confidence. Sen. John Boozman Buys Wells Fargo & Company Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed — several firms revised price targets and ratings after Q4 (some trims, some raises); consensus remains around a “hold”/modest upside, creating balanced near?term analyst flow rather than a uniform boost. These Analysts Revise Their Forecasts On Wells Fargo Following Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: New coverage and broader industry commentary — CICC initiated coverage and major outlets highlighted sector?wide strength in trading and wealth, which could support longer?term estimates but doesn’t remove near?term uncertainty. Wells Fargo Coverage Initiated at CICC Research
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed and severance dragged on profits — commentary and reporting pointed to material severance and restructuring charges that pressured reported profit and prompted concern about near?term earnings quality. Wells Fargo misses profit estimates on severance costs, shares fall
• Negative Sentiment: Sector and policy overhang — bank stocks broadly pulled back after earnings, and proposals to cap credit?card rates have emerged as a regulatory risk that could hit consumer finance revenue if enacted. Bank Stocks Get Punished After Earnings—Is Valuation the Real Problem?
• Negative Sentiment: Housing sentiment softens — the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell unexpectedly in January, a modest negative for mortgage origination outlooks and related loan growth. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Deteriorates In January

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cfra Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.87.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE WFC opened at $88.36 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $58.42 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $277.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.