First Citizens Financial Corp Has $435,000 Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

First Citizens Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 67.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 32.2% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 99,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 24,126 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 37.2% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 638,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,055,000 after acquiring an additional 173,083 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.4% in the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 177,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 26,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,874,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,485,908. 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 has a 12 month low of $46.12 and a 12 month high of $78.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $71.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.37.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. UBS Group upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Thirteen investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.57.

Wells Fargo & 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.