Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stake Increased by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 696.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,886 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for 2.3% of West Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after purchasing an additional 831,975 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,532,000 after buying an additional 897,195 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,183,000 after buying an additional 162,066 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,284,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $441,983,000 after purchasing an additional 575,892 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $1.56 on Friday, hitting $70.01. 14,336,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,904,512. The company has a market cap of $233.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $46.12 and a 52 week high of $78.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.82.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WFC shares. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wells Fargo & 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.