Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $64.84 and last traded at $64.68, with a volume of 5639402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.02.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.82.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.98 and a 200 day moving average of $58.11. The company has a market cap of $225.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Income Research & Management bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.