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

Senator Mitch McConnell (Republican-Kentucky) recently bought shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC). In a filing disclosed on June 30th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Wells Fargo & Company stock on June 1st.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Performance

WFC opened at $82.66 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $252.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $72.78 and a 1 year high of $97.76.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.85 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 13.27% and a net margin of 17.26%.Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WFC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the fourth quarter worth $4,512,563,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 37,421,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,487,687,000 after buying an additional 1,760,484 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,197,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,975,600,000 after buying an additional 188,186 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 20,625,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,922,257,000 after buying an additional 2,369,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 16,463,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,310,663,000 after buying an additional 6,944,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WFC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.34.

Wells Fargo & Company News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo said it plans an 11% dividend increase and ongoing share repurchases after passing the 2026 Federal Reserve stress test, reinforcing confidence in its capital strength and supporting the case for more cash returned to investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also issued a bullish market view, telling investors to get ready for a summer rally and arguing that recent volatility was likely temporary, which may have helped sentiment around the bank and its outlook for trading and investment banking activity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader bank-news coverage noted that large U.S. banks passing the Fed stress tests are rewarding shareholders with higher dividends and buybacks, which can lift expectations for Wells Fargo’s own capital return trajectory. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo was also mentioned in unrelated coverage about AMD, Nextpower, Bloom Energy, and other companies, but those stories do not appear to have a direct fundamental impact on WFC. Article Title

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 is a diversified, U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, the firm has evolved from its origins in express delivery and pioneer-era banking into one of the largest full-service banks in the United States. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual, small business, commercial, and institutional clients. Charles W. Scharf serves as chief executive officer.

Wells Fargo operates across several core business segments, including consumer banking and lending, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management.