Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Purchases 3,465 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,465 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for approximately 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.9% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,418,000 after purchasing an additional 3,418 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 295.6% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 35,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,063,000 after buying an additional 26,591 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.6% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 2,248,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,315,000 after buying an additional 13,583 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 34.2% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 49,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,861,000 after acquiring an additional 12,588 shares during the period. Finally, Black Maple Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 174.5% in the first quarter. Black Maple Capital Management LP now owns 14,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $75.96 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $42.52 and a 1-year high of $76.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average of $59.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $252.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly 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 during 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 business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.11%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.07.

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.