GSA Capital Partners LLP Sells 538 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP decreased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,183,000 after purchasing an additional 162,066 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,500,000 after acquiring an additional 108,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $160,529,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC stock opened at $75.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $42.52 and a 52-week high of $76.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.81.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 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 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.