Eagle Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 169,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,411 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $760,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 252,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,257,000 after buying an additional 4,061 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $471,000. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 4,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 33.6% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 135,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,658,000 after acquiring an additional 34,068 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WFC stock traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $75.96. The stock had a trading volume of 14,997,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,191,614. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $42.52 and a 52-week high of $76.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $63.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.81.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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 announced 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

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.