Wells Fargo & Company $WFC Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,921 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hidden Cove Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group boosted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 3.9% in the third quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 3,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 12,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 3.1%

WFC stock opened at $89.08 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $58.42 and a one year high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.94 and its 200 day moving average is $85.85. The firm has a market cap of $279.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.09.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $11.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WFC. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $99.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.