Portfolio Design Labs LLC Buys 16,428 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 41.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,428 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 0.9% of Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,504,000 after buying an additional 18,717 shares in the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after buying an additional 8,107 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 111.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after buying an additional 18,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 382,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,620,000 after acquiring an additional 20,149 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $73.43 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $42.15 and a 1 year high of $74.70. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.95 and its 200-day moving average is $59.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.