GFS Advisors LLC Buys 4,548 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

GFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1,137.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,548 shares during the quarter. GFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 8,107 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $27,441,000 after acquiring an additional 106,260 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 40.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 51,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.3% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Compass Point boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.4 %

WFC stock opened at $64.68 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $39.39 and a 52 week high of $66.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $220.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio 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.