Trajan Wealth LLC Buys 26,812 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 29.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,812 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $9,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at about $3,656,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,165,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1,121.0% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 24,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 22,107 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 38,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,222,000 after acquiring an additional 11,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 138,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,639,000 after acquiring an additional 47,946 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $88.61 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $278.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $58.42 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $11.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 28.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Freedom Capital cut Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

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.