Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Acquired by First City Capital Management Inc.

First City Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,131 shares during the quarter. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 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 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.57.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WFC traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.85. The stock had a trading volume of 4,153,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,170,006. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $235.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Wells Fargo & 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.