Ather Williams III Sells 60,000 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WFC traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.86. 17,400,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,078,445. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.58 and a 12 month high of $64.08. The company has a market capitalization of $222.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFC. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point raised their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.82.

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.

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