National Pension Service Raises Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

National Pension Service lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 15.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $383,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 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. Thirteen research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $63.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $40.27 and a 52-week high of $66.39. The stock has a market cap of $217.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.56.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. 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.