Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $64.84 and last traded at $64.68, with a volume of 5639402 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.02.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.05. The company has a market capitalization of $226.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Income Research & Management acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the second quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 5,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 15,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.