Diversified Trust Co Boosts Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,133 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,375,000 after buying an additional 5,237,500 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,898 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 158.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,709,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,716 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $71.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 33.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.24.

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.