Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after buying an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,183,000 after acquiring an additional 162,066 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,529,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $253.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.36. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $43.48 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 earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.07.

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.