Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,504,000 after buying an additional 18,717 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after acquiring an additional 18,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 41.2% in the third quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 56,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,181,000 after acquiring an additional 16,428 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was 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

NYSE:WFC opened at $76.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $253.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $43.48 and a one year high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Compass Point upped 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.