Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 10,488 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 299,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,488 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $27,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 204.3% during the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 29,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 19,819 shares in the last quarter. Ponta Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $517,000. Indivisible Partners purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $920,000. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 40,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 27,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 14,774 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total transaction of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WFC. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $101.00 to $98.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 0.6%

WFC stock opened at $80.39 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $71.89 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.58 and its 200 day moving average is $86.14. The firm has a market cap of $246.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.