Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,671 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $5,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Coastline Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.1% during the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 6,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 13.6% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 159,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,114 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.4% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 127,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.9% during the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connable Office Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 64,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was 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 $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.17 and a 200 day moving average of $59.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $41.99 and a twelve month high of $74.41.

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. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WFC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & 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.