ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 310,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,887 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $17,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after acquiring an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,500,000 after acquiring an additional 108,480 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $297,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,662,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,035,000 after purchasing an additional 48,419 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $64.36. The stock had a trading volume of 19,234,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,069,352. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $56.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.58 and a 12 month high of $64.78.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.