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

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

WFC stock opened at $71.31 on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $46.12 and a 12-month high of $78.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.16.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wells Fargo & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 99,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,595,000 after buying an additional 24,126 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 575,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,505,000 after purchasing an additional 11,037 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 638,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,055,000 after purchasing an additional 173,083 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 177,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 26,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 16.4% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 132,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,504,000 after purchasing an additional 18,717 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. This represents a 26.83 % 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 Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $2,169,650.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. The trade was a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.08% 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.

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.