Farmers Trust Co. Trims Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Farmers Trust Co. reduced its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WFC. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 730.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 5,954,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,375,000 after buying an additional 5,237,500 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth approximately $160,529,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 3,295.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,331,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $138,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404,898 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 158.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,709,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,532,000 after buying an additional 897,195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.61. The company had a trading volume of 8,902,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,945,032. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.69. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $46.12 and a 52-week high of $78.13. The company has a market capitalization of $238.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WFC shares. Compass Point lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $69.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.24.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, 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 transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. 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.