State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Position in Wells Fargo & Company $WFC

Key Points

• State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 5.0%, selling 45,900 shares and holding 866,049 shares valued at $80.716 million at the end of the quarter.
• Company insiders, including EVPs Kleber Santos and Bridget E. Engle, sold significant stock (55,000 shares in February) and insiders have sold 115,000 shares worth about $10.05 million over the last 90 days; insiders now own 0.14% of the company.
• Analysts carry a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $97.75, and Wells Fargo recently reported Q1 EPS of $1.60 (beat $1.58 est.) while revenue of $21.45 billion slightly missed expectations.

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 866,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 45,900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $80,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 472.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 36.9% during the third quarter. Main Street Group LTD now owns 438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.72, for a total value of $2,193,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Bridget E. Engle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.10, for a total value of $2,613,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,270,933.80. This represents a 26.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $10,050,000. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $102.00 to $100.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.75.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $79.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $245.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.17. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $68.67 and a twelve month high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $21.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.78%.

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.

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