Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 46.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,788 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investors Research Corp boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Income Research & Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Compass Point boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.62.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $73.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $44.41 and a 1-year high of $78.13. The company has a market cap of $243.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.