Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 37,025 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,460,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,025 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $275,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 13,196 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,610,000 after acquiring an additional 84,902 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,673,000 after acquiring an additional 14,168 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,446,000 after purchasing an additional 17,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.8% during the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 283,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,770,000 after purchasing an additional 32,094 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (down from $100.00) on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $86.50 to $93.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.34.

Key Stories Impacting Wells Fargo & Company

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo beat Wall Street estimates with second-quarter EPS of about $2.00 and revenue of $22.62 billion, helped by broad-based growth across fee income, wealth management, investment banking, and trading. Wells Fargo Beats Second-Quarter Estimates Amid Broad-Based Revenue Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The bank said profit rose 17%, with higher loan growth boosting interest income and volatile markets supporting trading desks, which points to improving core earnings momentum. Wells Fargo profit jumps on interest income boost, trading windfall
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strength in wealth management and investment banking, including growth in corporate and investment banking revenue and a healthy deal pipeline, which may support future revenue. Wells Fargo Profit Beats Estimates on Wealth, Investment Banking
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced an 11% dividend increase and a $3 billion share repurchase, which is supportive for shareholders but largely expected given the strong quarter. Wells Fargo CEO Says America Is Still Spending Big—Even With Inflation Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market news and a cooler-than-expected CPI reading also lifted financial stocks overall, providing a supportive backdrop for the sector. June CPI Goes Negative on Low Oil Prices, Banks Report for Q2
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, some articles noted the stock faded as investors worried about higher expenses, margin pressure, and whether strong results would be enough to drive further upside after a run-up. Big Bank Earnings Preview: Bank of America, JPMorgan Stocks Starting to Rally — Will This Laggard Be Next?
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary framed the reaction as a sell-the-news move across big banks, suggesting investors may be using the earnings release to lock in gains rather than chase the stock higher. Wall Street Lunch: Big Banks Fall Despite Upbeat Earnings

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock opened at $85.73 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.89 and its 200-day moving average is $83.85. 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 company has a market cap of $262.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $72.78 and a twelve month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.