Accredited Investors Inc. Sells 4,538 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Accredited Investors Inc. trimmed its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,538 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after acquiring an additional 11,037 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 18,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 382,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,620,000 after buying an additional 20,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $41.99 and a 52-week high of $74.41. The stock has a market cap of $247.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.30.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. 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.