Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 6,631 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,631 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after acquiring an additional 831,975 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after buying an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,183,000 after buying an additional 162,066 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,226,000 after buying an additional 2,349,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $73.58 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $42.15 and a 1 year high of $74.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.59.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.