OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Increases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 208.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 14,682 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents 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. In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WFC. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WFC traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.79. 18,823,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,143,436. The company has a market capitalization of $242.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 52 week low of $41.46 and a 52 week high of $74.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $60.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.01.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. 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.