Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) CEO John G. Stumpf sold $3 million worth of company stock on July 22nd, adding to pessimism brought forth to the stock by worried investors who are concerned about how new financial regulations will dampen the company’s revenue forecasts.
Mr. Stumpf sold 110,550 shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) stock on July 22nd at $26.83 each. The shares were held in a family trust. After the sale, Stumpf now owns 688,933 shares directly and another indirectly owned 5.6 million exercisable options. The total excludes 68,139 stock units that he holds under the company’s executive compensation plan. Stumpfs holdings represent less than 1% of the company’s outstanding shares.
A Wells Fargo spokeswoman told Barron’s magazine that the timing of the sale was a personal decision of Stmpf, however, that he still continues to hold most of his net worth itn he company’s stock. Stumpf’s earnings still continue to exceed the company’s stock-ownership guidelines for investors and directors, she added.
InsiderInsights.com Research Director Jonathan Moreland told Barron’s that by selling 14% of his non-options holdings Stumpf was sending a clear negative signal to investors. “I would think, from a public relations point of view, that this would be the last asset he would want to sell. The spotlight is on this industry,” he says. “It’s a concern that a key player is determining that now is a good time to cash out of this large amount of his holdings.”
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company. The Company provides retail, commercial and corporate banking services through banking stores located in 39 states and the District of Columbia. It provides other financial services, through subsidiaries engaged in various businesses, principally wholesale banking, mortgage banking, consumer finance, equipment leasing, agricultural finance, commercial finance, securities brokerage and investment banking, insurance agency and brokerage services, computer and data processing services, trust services, investment advisory services, mortgage-backed securities servicing and venture capital investment. The Company operates in three segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement. As of December 31, 2009, the Company provided banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance from more than 10,000 stores under various types of ownership and leasehold agreements.
Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) traded up 0.14% on Friday ending at $27.73 for the week.
