Payden & Rygel Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Payden & Rygel reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 315,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,400 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 2.0% of Payden & Rygel’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $29,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $74.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.54. The stock has a market cap of $227.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.96. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May, signaling a modest rebound in homebuilder confidence and supporting a more constructive outlook for mortgage and housing-related banking activity. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Lazard moved up league tables on NextEra Energy’s $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking deal activity that could support fee income. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo settled a lawsuit alleging hiring and lending discrimination for $110 million, including a $100 million fund for eligible borrowers in certain low- and moderate-income areas. The agreement removes uncertainty, but it also underscores continued legal and reputational risk. Wells Fargo settles lawsuit alleging hiring, lending discrimination
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg Law reported that Wells Fargo’s $110 million discrimination settlement was approved, confirming the charge but reducing litigation uncertainty going forward. Wells Fargo’s $110 Million Discrimination Settlement is Approved
• Neutral Sentiment: News about Wells Fargo’s call on Disney is not directly material to WFC’s earnings outlook, though it reflects ongoing research activity from the bank’s analysts. Disney (DIS) Still Has Significant Upside Potential, Says Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier market coverage noted Wells Fargo extending losses alongside Bank of America in a weak broader financials tape, suggesting some sector pressure may still be weighing on the shares. Bank of America, Wells Fargo extend losses; Japanese firms in gainers: week’s financials wrap

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.53.

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.