Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Carlson Capital Management

Carlson Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Carlson Capital Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Income Research & Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,631,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,078,322. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.91. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $42.52 and a fifty-two week high of $77.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.