Prana Capital Management LP Sells 485,450 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Prana Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 490,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 485,450 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 1.3% of Prana Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Prana Capital Management LP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $27,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Prentice Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the second quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Juncture Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth approximately $204,000. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,108,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.3% in the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 12,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Phillip Securities raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % 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 Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $74.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.52. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $44.41 and a 12 month high of $78.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $246.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 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.