Hilltop National Bank Decreases Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Hilltop National Bank decreased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,493,000 after buying an additional 2,404,898 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,709,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after acquiring an additional 897,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $1.87 on Friday, reaching $69.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,824,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,265,880. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.82. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.