Foster & Motley Inc. Invests $289,000 in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Income Research & Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $69.79 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.72. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $40.27 and a 52-week high of $74.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

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.