Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 831,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113,677 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 0.9% of South Dakota Investment Council’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $40,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 38,197,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,560,755,000 after purchasing an additional 129,300 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 18,269,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $746,484,000 after acquiring an additional 335,560 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 7,749,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,660,000 after acquiring an additional 221,459 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,103,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,234,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,780,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $285,668,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.95. 21,678,006 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,048,328. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $36.40 and a 12-month high of $61.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $215.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.26.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.10. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 12.30%. The company had revenue of $20.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Odeon Capital Group cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $48.80 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.85.

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.