Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Purchases 162,066 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,641,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 162,066 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company accounts for about 1.5% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $375,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 19,848,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,178,591,000 after acquiring an additional 831,975 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 15.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 6,789,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $383,532,000 after purchasing an additional 897,195 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,852,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $339,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,595 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 5,278,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $313,500,000 after buying an additional 108,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,131,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $297,411,000 after buying an additional 1,415,647 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Wells Fargo & Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE WFC traded up $3.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $73.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,482,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,097,475. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Wells Fargo & Company has a twelve month low of $40.53 and a twelve month high of $74.27.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

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.