Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Sells 50,219 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 59.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,219 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company makes up approximately 0.7% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,505,000 after acquiring an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its position 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 during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 18,138 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % 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.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.5 %

WFC stock opened at $75.96 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 twelve month low of $42.52 and a twelve month high of $76.08. The company has a market cap of $252.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day moving average of $59.81.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Wells Fargo & Company’s 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.