Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,887,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 484,467 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $219,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Income Research & Management purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter valued at $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC opened at $69.79 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.72. 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 market cap of $232.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $40.27 and a twelve month high of $74.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WFC. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.12.

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.