Algert Global LLC Purchases Shares of 70,478 Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 70,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,981,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth $47,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $1.15 on Tuesday, reaching $78.05. 10,820,232 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,106,006. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.91. The firm has a market cap of $259.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $42.52 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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. Company 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.