BLB&B Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at about $790,000. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.8% in the third quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 24,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 6,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $64.81 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $38.58 and a twelve month high of $65.21. The company has a market capitalization of $225.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

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.