Vest Financial LLC Purchases 9,036 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 23.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,036 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $88.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $58.42 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $276.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.87.

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.