Commerce Bank Decreases Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 39.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 130,161 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $11,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WFC. Income Research & Management purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth about $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 period. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm'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 $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 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. The trade was a 26.83 % 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 Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:WFC opened at $73.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.59. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $42.15 and a one year high of $74.70. The firm has a market cap of $244.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.07.

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.