Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Bought by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,428 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 0.9% of Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Income Research & Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

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 that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $73.43 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $42.15 and a 52 week high of $74.70. The firm has a market cap of $244.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

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.