Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Decreases Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 810 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.63. 5,486,019 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,352,494. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The stock has a market cap of $231.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.92.

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.