Morse Asset Management Inc Takes Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 8,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,447.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 689,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,926,000 after purchasing an additional 644,552 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 441,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $635,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 18,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,788 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.62.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 1.4 %

WFC opened at $73.07 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.61. The company has a market cap of $243.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $44.41 and a 1 year high of $78.13. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last posted its 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 during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 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 represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.