Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 28.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 473,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,441,000 after acquiring an additional 106,260 shares during the period. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 154.2% during the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 16,515 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,648,000 after purchasing an additional 51,234 shares during the period. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 11,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WFC. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.82.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC stock opened at $64.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $38.58 and a one year high of $64.78. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results 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. 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 period last year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a boost from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

Wells Fargo & Company Company Profile

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.