Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 644,552 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1,447.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 689,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 644,552 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $38,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Income Research & Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $74.14 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $44.41 and a twelve month high of $78.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.62.

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.