Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,616 shares during the quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WFC. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth about $29,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.07.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $76.20 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.36. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $43.48 and a 12-month high of $78.13. 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 $253.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.14.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

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.