Trust Asset Management LLC Sells 3,890 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Trust Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,890 shares during the period. Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Income Research & Management bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC traded up $0.74 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,563,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,021,688. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $42.52 and a one year high of $76.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.80. The firm has a market cap of $255.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.