Destination Wealth Management Cuts Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Destination Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 40.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,208 shares during the period. Destination Wealth Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404,898 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 158.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,709,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,069,000 after buying an additional 1,659,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after buying an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. 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 on 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 $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $70.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $235.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.11. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company 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 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. UBS Group upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.49.

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.