State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its Wells Fargo & Company stake by 1.6% in the first quarter, selling 13,900 shares and ending the period with 852,149 shares of WFC stock.
The filing matters now because it puts a large institutional holder’s latest move on the record while traders are still parsing where big money stands on Wells Fargo. At the end of the most recent quarter, the Michigan system’s holding was valued at $67,840,000, a figure that reflects the 852,149 shares it retained after the sale.
That position still leaves the pension fund with a meaningful exposure to Wells Fargo & Company, and it sits inside a broader ownership picture in which institutional investors and hedge funds controlled 75.90% of the stock. In other words, the trim did not signal an exit. It showed a reduction in size while large investors as a group remained firmly in the trade.
Other firms also added to their stakes in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings by 2.5% to 4,514 shares worth $421,000 after buying 108 more shares. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its position by 3.6% to 3,351 shares valued at $312,000 after adding 115 shares. Simmons Bank raised its holdings by 1.9% to 6,359 shares worth $593,000 after purchasing 116 shares, while Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake by 1.0% to 12,048 shares worth $1,123,000 after buying 117 shares. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC also increased its position by 1.6% to 7,754 shares worth $722,000 after acquiring 120 shares.
The same period brought a mixed set of analyst calls. Barclays lowered its price objective to $108.00 from $113.00 and kept an overweight rating. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut its target to $98.00 from $101.00 and assigned a market perform rating. KGI Securities moved the stock to hold, while Weiss Ratings restated a buy rating. Morgan Stanley later lifted its price objective to $102.00 from $97.00 and kept an equal weight view. MarketBeat data puts the average rating at Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $98.34.
The unanswered question is not whether Wells Fargo still has institutional support; it does. It is why State of Michigan Retirement System chose to pare back in the first quarter while other investors were still building positions. The filing gives the answer on size, not motive, and that is the detail that will keep this Wfc Stock move in focus.
