Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.97 and last traded at $65.87, with a volume of 1442011 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.33.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction 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 $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares in the last quarter. First Interstate Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $113,000. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 57,035 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 8,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.