RIA Advisory Group LLC Invests $1.20 Million in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 21,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,201,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 159,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,028,000 after purchasing an additional 19,114 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 127,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Connable Office Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 64,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.34. The company had a trading volume of 18,836,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,126,145. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $61.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.30. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $41.99 and a 12 month high of $74.41. The company has a market capitalization of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised 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. Compass Point boosted 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, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 126,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % 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 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.