Prospera Financial Services Inc Purchases 22,854 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,854 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 18,717 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,780,000 after acquiring an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 18,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents 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 Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $246.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.56 and its 200 day moving average is $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $42.15 and a one year high of $74.70.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.