ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 670,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,470 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $62,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 6,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% in the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.6% in the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 3,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was 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 directly owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo will present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference on May 27, keeping management visible to investors and potentially reinforcing the bank’s strategy and outlook. Wells Fargo to Present at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
• Positive Sentiment: The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index unexpectedly rose to 37 in May from 34 in April, a sign that homebuilder sentiment is improving and could support loan demand in the housing market. U.S. Homebuilder Confidence Unexpectedly Rebounds In May
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other banks moved up league tables after helping arrange NextEra Energy’s $67 billion deal for Dominion Energy, highlighting stronger investment-banking activity. Lazard, Wells Fargo Vault Up League Tables on NextEra-Dominion Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted Wells Fargo’s preferred shares offer a discounted yield opportunity with interest-rate optionality, which is more of an investor commentary piece than a direct company catalyst. Wells Fargo Long Duration Preferred: Safe Yield, Discount To Par, And Interest Rate Optionality
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo agreed to a $110 million settlement over lending and hiring discrimination claims, including a $100 million borrower-assistance fund, which may weigh on sentiment despite removing legal uncertainty. Wells Fargo agrees to $110M lending, hiring discrimination settlement

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $71.89 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $228.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.96.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The business had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

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.