West Branch Capital LLC Acquires 868 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,591,000 after acquiring an additional 831,975 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,500,000 after acquiring an additional 108,480 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,035,000 after acquiring an additional 48,419 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.82.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.0 %

WFC traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.36. 19,234,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,069,352. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $56.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.00. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.58 and a fifty-two week high of $64.78. The stock has a market cap of $224.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wells Fargo & 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.