Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 12,510 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,643,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,510 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $92,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,266,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,343,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,892,000 after acquiring an additional 75,528 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 574.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 59,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,343,000 after acquiring an additional 50,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 142,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,539 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WFC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Phillip Securities raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “neutral” rating to an “accumulate” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Thirteen 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.47.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock opened at $74.33 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $247.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12 month low of $44.65 and a 12 month high of $78.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wells Fargo & Company

In other news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.