Aspiriant LLC Buys 977 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the 2nd 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. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,035,000 after purchasing an additional 48,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen equities research 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.30. 4,742,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,996,502. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.58 and a fifty-two week high of $64.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

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.