WoodTrust Financial Corp Boosts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 buying an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in 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 worth $383,532,000 after acquiring an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,349,595 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $313,500,000 after purchasing an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 13.2 %

WFC opened at $72.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $241.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $40.27 and a one year high of $74.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.72.

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. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.