Lakeside Advisors INC. Sells 731 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Lakeside Advisors INC. trimmed its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $113,000. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% in the third quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 57,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,222,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 8,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 259.6% during the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 34,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after buying an additional 24,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $64.68 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $39.39 and a twelve month high of $66.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $220.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted 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 firm 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 revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

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.