Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 12,525 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Bard Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,525 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % 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 1.9 %

NYSE WFC traded up $1.35 on Monday, hitting $72.66. 6,466,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,808,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $46.12 and a 52-week high of $78.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.51.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.63.

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.