EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $11.66 Million Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 15.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,049 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 worth $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd 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. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 162,066 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,375,000 after buying an additional 5,237,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,500,000 after buying an additional 108,480 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $247.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.39 and its 200-day moving average is $60.79. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $44.65 and a one year high of $78.13.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WFC shares. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

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.