Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.65 and last traded at $73.41, with a volume of 2461076 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $233.23 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $59.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.72.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.28%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, 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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % 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.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Income Research & Management acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

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.