Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,511 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Income Research & Management purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,014 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. John W. Brooker & Co. CPAs now owns 7,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WFC. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Compass Point boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.12.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, 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 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. This represents a 21.65 % 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 Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE WFC opened at $74.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $247.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.30. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $41.99 and a one year high of $74.41.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.