Sterling Investment Management LLC Sells 1,124 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the first quarter worth approximately $329,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 12,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 1st quarter worth $2,638,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.7% during the first quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 9.7% in the first quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 28,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 2,481 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $64.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $38.58 and a 12 month high of $64.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.00.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is an increase from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.82.

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.