InvesTrust Makes New Investment in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

InvesTrust bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 116,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,210,000. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 2.3% of InvesTrust’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.24.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.70. 7,310,449 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,696,152. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.77 and a 200 day moving average of $62.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.