Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Stratos Investment Management LLC

Stratos Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $47,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $64.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $224.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.00. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $38.58 and a 1-year high of $64.78.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.82.

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.