Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Buys 259 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,504,000 after acquiring an additional 18,717 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 18,138 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 382,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,620,000 after purchasing an additional 20,149 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $72.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $242.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.11. 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 1-year low of $41.99 and a 1-year high of $74.27.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’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 directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.