Maltese Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 63.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 135,000 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $6,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $3,990,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares during the period. M&G PLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,946,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $247,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,307 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,165,868,000 after buying an additional 2,180,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 8,010.7% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,973,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,135,000 after buying an additional 1,949,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $75.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.49. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $58.42 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.