Insider Selling: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) EVP Sells 60,000 Shares of Stock

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $64.37 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $38.58 and a 1 year high of $64.78. The firm has a market cap of $224.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

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.