DAVENPORT & Co LLC Purchases 27,315 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,137,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,315 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $106,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,222,000 after buying an additional 11,594 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 22,107 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,639,000 after buying an additional 47,946 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. CICC Research started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $79.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.32. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $58.42 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a market capitalization of $245.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 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 company had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.