Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 25,591 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 237,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,591 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $13,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WFC. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.3% during 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 buying an additional 1,295 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 90,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 8.8% during the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 6,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 17,954 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

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

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WFC. Phillip Securities raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen 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, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

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.