Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target Raised to $85.00

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $69.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.49.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $71.62 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $45.81 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

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 dated 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 owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during 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 period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,183,000 after acquiring an additional 162,066 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after acquiring an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Finally, First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,500,000 after acquiring an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% 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.