Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Decreases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 518 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 9,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 702,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,839 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 180,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,177,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Phillip Securities upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the 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 owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.5 %

WFC opened at $63.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.59. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $40.27 and a 52 week high of $66.39. The company has a market capitalization of $216.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 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.