Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,386 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,061 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $14,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,898 shares in the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 141.6% during the first quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP now owns 2,620,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,536,152 shares during the period. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WFC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $75.96 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $42.52 and a 1-year high of $76.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.81. The firm has a market cap of $252.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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, 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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 $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.