Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 32,096 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo by 19.2%, buying 32,096 shares to hold 199,121 shares valued at about $18.56 million at quarter-end.
• Wall Street analysts give WFC a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $97.75, though individual firms have issued mixed upgrades, downgrades and target changes.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, offloading 115,000 shares worth roughly $10.05 million over the last three months; insiders now own about 0.14% of the stock.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 199,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,096 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $18,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WFC. Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% in the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebrook Private Inc. lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% in the third quarter. Stonebrook Private Inc. now owns 4,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. Robert W. Baird raised Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. CICC Research started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.75.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.0%

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $245.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $81.34 and its 200 day moving average is $86.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $68.67 and a one year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $21.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at $7,270,933.80. The trade was a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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