Capital Research Global Investors Purchases 5,584,930 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors’ holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,989,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 66,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,652,000 after purchasing an additional 25,436 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $3,436,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 11.0% in the second quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 16,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $1,327,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $78.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.15 and a 200-day moving average of $86.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $243.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $58.42 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 28.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. CICC Research initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.