Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $67.00 to $82.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.9 %

WFC stock opened at $73.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $244.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $42.15 and a 12 month high of $74.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.49.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WFC. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $359,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter worth approximately $302,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 35.7% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 35,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,053,000 after buying an additional 9,326 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 96.7% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 9,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 4,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.9% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 72,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,206,000 after buying an additional 7,114 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.