Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,242,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 434,219 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,529,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. TD Cowen cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $78.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $241.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.66. 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 quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

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.