Wells Fargo & Company Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:WFC)

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 93,652 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 84% compared to the average daily volume of 50,927 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,006,722.72. This represents a 23.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total value of $5,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. The trade was a 26.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Miller Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.03.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 2.1%

WFC opened at $78.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a market cap of $243.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.66.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.71%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.