Vest Financial LLC Purchases 9,036 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,036 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 22.9% in the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 57,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,698 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $253,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. First Interstate Bank lifted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 271.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Interstate Bank now owns 12,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 9,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFC. Dbs Bank raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.87.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $88.08 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.29 and its 200 day moving average is $84.94. The stock has a market cap of $276.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.27%.Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

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.