Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 30,700 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 30,700 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $21,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,504,000 after buying an additional 18,717 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after buying an additional 18,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 382,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,620,000 after buying an additional 20,149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Compass Point raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.30. The company has a market cap of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.99 and a fifty-two week high of $74.41.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

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.