Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 106.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,911 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $64.37 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $38.58 and a 12-month high of $64.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $224.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WFC. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

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.