Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Sells 190 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.3% during the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Robinson Value Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 101,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 197.2% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 14,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $836,000 after buying an additional 9,816 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 8.4% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 11,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.4% during the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 366,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,694,000 after buying an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 0.6 %

WFC traded down $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $63.99. The company had a trading volume of 9,139,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,025,377. The company has a market capitalization of $223.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.58 and a one year high of $64.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Compass Point raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.82.

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.