Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Purchased by Capital International Inc. CA

Key Points

• Capital International Inc. CA raised its stake in Wells Fargo by 36.9% in Q3, buying 136,396 shares to hold 505,594 shares valued at about $42.38 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 75.9% of the company.
• Wells Fargo beat EPS estimates ($1.76 vs. $1.66) while missing revenue expectations slightly ($21.29B vs. $21.63B), and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.45 (annualized $1.80, ~2.3% yield).
• Insider selling has been notable recently: executives sold 115,000 shares over the last three months (about $10.05 million), leaving corporate insiders with just 0.08% ownership.

Capital International Inc. CA raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 36.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 505,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 136,396 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $42,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Hilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $147,165,000. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11,594 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of WFC opened at $78.76 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $58.42 and a fifty-two week high of $97.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $89.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.66. The firm has a market cap of $243.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WFC. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $104.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Argus raised their target price 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. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.03.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. This represents a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.08% 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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