Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. lessened its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 693,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 107,504 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $39,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Investors Research Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Income Research & Management purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

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

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC traded up $0.41 on Tuesday, hitting $77.31. 19,138,566 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,144,773. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $42.52 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13. The stock has a market cap of $257.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. Wells Fargo & Company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

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.