Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 128.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,044 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 473,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,441,000 after purchasing an additional 106,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 31,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,830,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 11,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 79,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,579,000 after buying an additional 6,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $65.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $38.69 and a 52 week high of $66.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.39. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents 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. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point increased 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

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.