Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48,093 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $12,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 252,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,257,000 after purchasing an additional 4,061 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at about $471,000. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.9% in the third quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 4,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 33.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 135,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,658,000 after buying an additional 34,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 85,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the 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 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 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WFC. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $73.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $244.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.59. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $42.15 and a 1 year high of $74.70.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.