State of Michigan Retirement System cut WFC stock by 1.6% in the first quarter after selling 13,900 shares. Even after the trim, it still held 852,149 shares of Wells Fargo & Company worth $67,840,000 at quarter end. The move leaves a large remaining position in place, not a full exit.
852,149 shares after the sale
852,149 shares is the size of the holding that remained after the sale, and $67,840,000 was its quarter-end value. That works out to about $79.60 per share, using the reported market value and share count. For a retirement system, that scale means the reduction changed the position, but not the institution’s exposure to Wells Fargo.
Fourth-quarter buyers added shares
2.5% was the size of the increase Private Wealth Group LLC reported in the fourth quarter, after buying 108 additional shares to reach 4,514 shares worth $421,000. 3.6% was the boost Nixon Peabody Trust Co. reported after adding 115 shares, while Simmons Bank lifted its holdings by 1.9% and Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position by 1.0%. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC also raised its stake by 1.6% after acquiring 120 shares.
75.90% still sits with institutions
75.90% of Wells Fargo & Company stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, so the Michigan reduction sits inside a much larger ownership base rather than a one-off exit. That matters because the quarter’s filing shows one large holder trimming while the broader institutional bid remains in place. Investors looking at WFC stock are not seeing a clean break; they are seeing portfolio adjustments layered onto continuing institutional ownership.
Moderate Buy is the average rating MarketBeat listed for Wells Fargo & Company, with an average price target of $98.34. On the analyst side, KGI Securities lowered the stock to a hold rating on Thursday, April 16th, Barclays cut its target price from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an overweight rating on Wednesday, April 15th, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced its target from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a market perform rating on the same day. Morgan Stanley later raised its price objective from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating on Monday, June 29th.
The unanswered piece is why State of Michigan Retirement System chose to trim by 13,900 shares in the first quarter. The filing shows the end result clearly: a smaller stake, a still-substantial holding, and a stock that remains heavily owned by institutions while analysts keep landing on mixed ratings and price targets.
