Wells Fargo & Company $WFC is Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s 8th Largest Position

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 65.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 150,157 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company comprises approximately 0.9% of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This trade represents a 26.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 79,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. This trade represents a 23.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $79.88 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $71.89 and a 1 year high of $97.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.16. The company has a market cap of $244.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $11.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WFC shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.53.

Wells Fargo & Company Profile

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.