Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Boosts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,507,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,942 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.08% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $210,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 302,092,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,203,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,859,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,496,998,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,999 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,165,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 8,469,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,598,000 after purchasing an additional 88,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:WFC opened at $86.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $266.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $58.42 and a twelve 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 fifty day simple moving average of $90.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.37.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hedge funds and analyst sentiment remain constructive — WFC is listed among top banking picks and coverage is moderately bullish (roughly half the analysts rate it Buy), which supports investor demand. What Do Further Rate Cuts Mean for Wells Fargo & Company (WFC)
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell sharply in February (down ~16.7% to ~26.7M shares, ~0.8% of float), reducing potential short-covering volatility and downward pressure on the stock. (Short-interest ratio ≈ 1.7 days.)
• Positive Sentiment: Management change in business banking — Wells Fargo named Devine to lead Business Banking, a move that could help execution in a key revenue segment. Wells Fargo Names Devine to Lead Business Banking
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo will fully redeem its Series BB preferred shares (140,400 shares) in mid‑March — a small-capital-structure change that removes a preferred tranche but uses cash; net impact on common equity depends on funding and capital priorities. Full Redemption of Series BB Preferred Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo research activity (analyst notes and sector coverage) is active — the firm is publishing rate/price updates on other companies and issuing sector views that can influence institutional flows but are indirect to WFC’s fundamentals. Wells Fargo Raises Aflac Target, Revises Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader demographic tailwinds (rising U.S. investable assets, wealth transfer) are positive for long-term deposit/investment flows but are not an immediate catalyst. Women’s wealth is expected to boom
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo has underperformed the Nasdaq over the past year, a performance gap that can deter momentum investors and ETFs that favor stronger relative performers. Is Wells Fargo Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitor pressure: HSBC recently leapfrogged Wells Fargo by market cap after an upbeat report, highlighting competitive and perception risks for WFC among global banks. HSBC leapfrogs Wells Fargo by market cap
• Negative Sentiment: Relative upside debate vs. peers — some analysts argue Bank of America may offer stronger earnings/IB momentum and valuation upside, which could shift investor allocation away from WFC. Bank of America or Wells Fargo: Which Big Bank Offers More Upside?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.03.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.