Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Holdings Raised by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,465 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 0.1% of Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Income Research & Management acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WFC. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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. Finally, 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $75.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $42.52 and a 1-year high of $76.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.81. 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 (NYSE:WFC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 33.26%.

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.