Investors Buy Large Volume of Wells Fargo & Company Call Options (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 412,749 call options on the company. This is an increase of 402% compared to the typical volume of 82,301 call options.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.6 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,625,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,839,504. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.86 and its 200 day moving average is $50.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $37.18 and a 1-year high of $61.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The business had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.99.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.0% in the third quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 41,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 4,092 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.0% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 57,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.3% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 58.2% in the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 3,229 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.