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

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 Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $82.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.32. The company has a market cap of $252.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $97.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

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

Key Wells Fargo & Company News

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

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 35,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,289,000 after acquiring an additional 13,196 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 532,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,610,000 after acquiring an additional 84,902 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 350,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,673,000 after purchasing an additional 14,168 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 4.4% during 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 during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,482,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,935,000 after buying an additional 139,659 shares in the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $109.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $91.00 to $86.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.34.

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

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.