Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Purchased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 41.2% during the third quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 56,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,181,000 after acquiring an additional 16,428 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 546,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,879,000 after buying an additional 98,015 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 175,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,897,000 after buying an additional 5,123 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $691,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $132,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE WFC opened at $73.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $244.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 12 month low of $42.15 and a 12 month high of $74.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.35 and a 200-day moving average of $59.59.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 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.