Bard Financial Services Inc. Trims Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Bard Financial Services Inc. reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,525 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 13,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Income Research & Management bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.63.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of WFC stock traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $72.66. 6,466,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,808,706. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The firm has a market cap of $241.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $71.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.