Sen. Mitch McConnell Purchases Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Stock

Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) recently bought shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). In a filing disclosed on September 21st, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Wells Fargo & Company stock on September 1st.

Wells Fargo & Company Price Performance

NYSE:WFC opened at $81.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.08 and a 200-day moving average of $82.85. The company has a market capitalization of $247.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.92. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $97.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFCGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $22.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.86 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wells Fargo & Company will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Wells Fargo & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $94.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.08.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WFC

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Wells Fargo & Company this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Senator Mitch McConnell disclosed a purchase of WFC stock, providing a modestly supportive signal about investor confidence, although the trade’s size and timing were not specified. Congress Trade: Senator Mitch McConnell Just Disclosed New Stock Trades
  • Neutral Sentiment: Chief Risk Officer Derek Flowers plans to retire in mid-January after nearly 30 years at Wells Fargo. Chief Operating Officer Scott Powell will succeed him, creating a planned internal transition that may preserve continuity but removes a long-serving risk executive. Wells Fargo’s chief risk officer Derek Flowers to retire
  • Neutral Sentiment: The Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike could help Wells Fargo expand net interest income by supporting asset yields. However, higher deposit costs and potential pressure on loan demand could limit the benefit, making the effect on earnings uncertain. Fed Rate Hike: What it Means for Wells Fargo’s NII Outlook
  • Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo and other major banks declined as Meta’s Muse AI agent intensified fears that AI could automate or displace parts of traditional financial-services operations. The concern has weighed on the broader banking group and appears to be the most significant near-term pressure on WFC. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Bank of America Slide as Meta’s Muse Sparks AI Fears

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $658,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 412,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,446,000 after purchasing an additional 17,302 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter worth $25,922,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the fourth quarter worth $4,512,563,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth $1,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

About Senator McConnell

Mitch McConnell (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Kentucky. He assumed office on January 3, 1985. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. McConnell (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Kentucky. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020. McConnell is the Senate minority leader in the 118th Congress. He became the minority leader when the Democratic Party gained a majority in the Senate in January 2021.McConnell previously served as Senate majority leader from 2015 to 2021. He was unanimously elected as majority leader by Republicans following the 2014 elections. Before that, he served as Senate minority leader from 2007 to 2015. As Senate majority leader, McConnell set records for the number of judicial nominees confirmed during the first two years of a presidency. As of July 2019, the Senate had confirmed two Supreme Court justices, 41 circuit court appeals judges, and 80 district court judges during President Donald Trump’s presidency. “To put that in context, that’s about one in five of the Courts of Appeals judges nationwide have now been appointed by this president and confirmed by this Senate in two and a half years. And I want you to know that my view is, there will be no vacancies left behind. None,” McConnell said in June 2019. McConnell previously worked as the Deputy U.S. Attorney for Legislative Affairs from 1974 to 1975 and as a judge-executive of Jefferson County, KY, from 1979 to 1985.

About Wells Fargo & Company

(Get Free Report)

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, lending, investment, and wealth management services to consumers, businesses, and institutions. Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, personal lending, commercial financing, and treasury management services.

The company operates through businesses that include consumer and small-business banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.

Recommended Stories

Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.