ING Groep NV Sells 245,056 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245,056 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $7,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 54.5% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.14. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $41.99 and a 52 week high of $74.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. 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 company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 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 Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WFC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.