Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,800 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 54.5% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $72.80 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $41.99 and a fifty-two week high of $74.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.11.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Phillip Securities raised 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, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.12.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % 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.

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.