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Nordea Investment Management AB Cuts Stake in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

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Key Points

  • Nordea Investment Management trimmed its stake in Wells Fargo by 3.4%, selling 208,128 shares and ending the quarter with 5,982,559 shares worth about $561.1 million (0.19% of the company).
  • Insider selling has been notable recently: EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares ($5.244M) and EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares ($2.193M), with insiders disposing of 115,000 shares (~$10.05M) over the last 90 days.
  • Meanwhile, large institutions moved aggressively the other way—Norges Bank bought a new stake worth roughly $3.99 billion and Capital Research boosted its holding to 35.66M shares (~$2.99B); institutional ownership stands at about 75.9% and MarketBeat’s consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $96.71 target.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in May.

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,982,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 208,128 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.19% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $561,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,990,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584,930 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,760,994,000 after acquiring an additional 399,088 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,859,680 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,496,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 14,155,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,165,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,693 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ellen R. Patterson sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.40, for a total transaction of $5,244,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 169,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,813,950.40. This trade represents a 26.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total transaction of $2,193,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,722.72. The trade was a 23.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WFC. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. CICC Research started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $96.71.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $77.59 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $58.42 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The stock has a market cap of $239.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $21.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.63 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.27% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Wells Fargo & Company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is presently 28.71%.

About Wells Fargo & Company

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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