Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 18,047 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,047 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $3,990,551,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 54.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,635,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,332,851,000 after buying an additional 5,894,747 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,487,000 after buying an additional 2,245,307 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8,010.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,973,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,395 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen lowered 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, January 15th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $81.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.40. The company has a market capitalization of $250.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.71%.

More Wells Fargo & Company News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst / internal commentary: Wells Fargo credit analyst Mike Mayo expressed confidence that the firm’s de‑risking in financials is supporting stronger credit trends—this is constructive for loan quality and loss provisions and can ease investor concerns about credit risk. Wells Fargo’s Mike Mayo feels good about de-risking in financials supporting stronger credit
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/rate context: Coverage pieces on how further Fed rate cuts could affect Wells Fargo note mixed implications—lower rates can pressure net interest income but the stock also has moderately bullish analyst coverage and hedge‑fund interest. Monitor rate‑cut expectations and NII guidance for near‑term impact. What Do Further Rate Cuts Mean for Wells Fargo & Company (WFC)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector pressure: A broader article reports bank and brokerage stocks suffered one of their worst days in months as investors price in potential AI‑driven disruption and other headwinds—this broad negative sentiment toward financials likely amplified selling in WFC. Bank, Brokerage Stocks Suffer Their Worst Day in Months. Here’s Why.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 WFC shares at an average $87.10 (≈$2.61M); her post‑sale holding fell ~26% — large, disclosed insider sales can weigh on sentiment even if they’re for personal reasons. Bridget E. Engle Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 WFC shares at an average $87.40 (≈$5.24M); her post‑sale holding declined ~26% — another large, concurrent insider sale increases near‑term selling pressure and may trigger short‑term investor caution. Ellen R. Patterson Form 4

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.