Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 11,671 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The firm 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.30. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $41.99 and a 1 year 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.