Griffin Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,358 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises approximately 1.6% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 35,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 152,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,496 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 473,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,441,000 after purchasing an additional 106,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 154.2% in the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.4 %

WFC opened at $63.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.58 and a 12 month high of $63.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday. Finally, Compass Point raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.