Ellenbecker Investment Group Trims Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Ellenbecker Investment Group lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 493 shares during the quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $225,000. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 109,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,526,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the last quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC now owns 125,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,434,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Finally, Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waycross Partners LLC now owns 282,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,750,000 after buying an additional 31,033 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $70.59 on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.07. The company has a market capitalization of $235.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WFC. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.