Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,079 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 47,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,079 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after buying an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,532,000 after acquiring an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,183,000 after acquiring an additional 162,066 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,529,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $75.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $42.52 and a 12-month high of $76.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average of $59.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Compass Point raised their price target 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. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

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.