First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,054 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,505,000 after acquiring an additional 11,037 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 473,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,441,000 after buying an additional 106,260 shares in the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 154.2% in the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 16,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 40.0% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,648,000 after acquiring an additional 51,234 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.41. The company had a trading volume of 14,370,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,041,844. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $57.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $39.24 and a 1-year high of $66.39.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

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.