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

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) recently bought shares of Wells Fargo & Company NYSE: WFC. In a filing disclosed on January 04th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Wells Fargo & Company stock on December 2nd.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

NYSE WFC traded up $1.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.31. 9,151,260 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,727,279. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $46.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Wells Fargo & Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,853,327.13. This represents a 21.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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.