Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,506 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 82,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 23,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 8,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $799,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 66,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 4,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. KGI Securities lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $73.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.82. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $71.89 and a twelve month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 27.78%.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo to Buy with a $98 price target, reinforcing the view that the stock remains undervalued and may have room to rebound. Wells Fargo (WFC) Upgraded to ‘Buy’ with $98 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Other recent coverage also argued Wells Fargo still offers meaningful upside, with one report pointing to about 16% upside despite the recent selloff. Wells Fargo Set for 16% Upside Despite Recent Selloff
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo’s own analyst Ohsung Kwon is making headlines for a broader market call that AI is in an “euphoric” bubble, a comment that reflects the firm’s active market research but does not directly change Wells Fargo’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo: AI is a ‘euphoric’ bubble and investors should ride it until it pops
• Neutral Sentiment: Fresh articles on Wells Fargo’s increased Ether ETF exposure and shifting crypto holdings may signal portfolio repositioning, but they are not likely to move the bank’s stock on their own. Wells Fargo lifts Ether ETF holdings in Q1 as Bitcoin positions shift
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also been weighed by the broader market’s reaction to Wells Fargo’s latest earnings and revenue mix, where EPS beat estimates but revenue came in well below expectations, keeping investors cautious about the pace of growth.

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.