Encompass More Asset Management Buys 1,771 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Encompass More Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $435,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after acquiring an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 177,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 26,320 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 18,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.3 %

WFC opened at $76.20 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $43.48 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last announced its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.