Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $367,000 Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 65.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,177 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 105.5% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,010,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,060,000 after buying an additional 518,524 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 23,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 6,841 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 7,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savoie Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $1,130,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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. 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 Stock Performance

WFC stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.44. The company had a trading volume of 16,794,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,978,080. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $46.12 and a one year high of $78.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.16. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $68.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Compass Point upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.49.

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.