Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Purchases 18,138 Shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Free Report) by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,138 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,505,000 after buying an additional 11,037 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 34.6% during the third quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 31,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 8,107 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 5.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 382,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,620,000 after purchasing an additional 20,149 shares during the period. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 755,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,332,000 after buying an additional 182,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,648,000 after buying an additional 51,234 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WFC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a "neutral" rating to an "accumulate" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.83 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.12.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

Wells Fargo & Company stock traded up $2.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $72.60. 17,109,835 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,141,627. The stock has a market cap of $241.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.83. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $40.53 and a fifty-two week high of $74.27.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

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

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.