Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,286 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.29.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

Shares of WFC opened at $53.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $187.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.38 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.29 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.30% and a net margin of 15.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.85%.

Wells Fargo & Company 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.