WealthShield Partners LLC Buys 19,819 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• WealthShield Partners boosted its stake in Wells Fargo by 204.3%, buying 19,819 shares to hold 29,518 shares valued at about $2.75 million at quarter-end.
• Insiders sold 115,000 shares totaling ~$10.05 million in the past 90 days, including EVP Ellen R. Patterson's sale of 60,000 shares at $87.40 and EVP Kleber Santos' sale of 25,000 shares at $87.72.
• Wells Fargo declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share (annualized $1.80), with an ex-dividend date of May 8 and payment on June 1, implying a ~2.2% yield.

WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 204.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,819 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 13,196 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,594 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 22,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 47,946 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 169,496 shares in the company, valued at $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $80.39 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $80.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $71.89 and a 52-week high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $246.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given 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 is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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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