Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases 155,098 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 29.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 684,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 155,098 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company comprises about 2.0% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $38,644,000 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. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Compass Point raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.07.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, 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 owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $76.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $253.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $43.48 and a 12-month high of $78.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.33.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The company 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 firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

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.