Mount Lucas Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Mount Lucas Management LP cut its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,489 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404,898 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% during the 1st quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,853,000 after buying an additional 1,536,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,415,647 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $41.99 and a one year high of $74.41.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

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.