Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 3,512 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,512 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 98.9% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 24,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 12,394 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the first quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 5,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $359,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $302,000. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,314,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.3 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.09 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $42.15 and a 12-month high of $74.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.56 and a 200 day moving average of $59.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

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.