Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Stock Holdings Cut by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,450,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 939,623 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 2.8% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,390,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,222,000 after buying an additional 11,594 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after buying an additional 22,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,639,000 after buying an additional 47,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $82.53 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1-year low of $58.42 and a 1-year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $254.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.53.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFCGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.The company had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.63 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WFC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $113.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.03.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Wells Fargo & Company

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Wells Fargo & Company

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Wells Fargo & Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

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