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 Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WFC opened at $71.31 on Friday. 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 firm 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.51 and its 200-day moving average is $62.46. Wells Fargo & Company has a 1 year low of $46.12 and a 1 year high of $78.13.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.40 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.26%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wells Fargo & Company in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 42,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,984,000 after acquiring an additional 4,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Wells Fargo & Company

In related news, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This trade represents a 21.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total value of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 163,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,421,957. The trade was a 26.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $71.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $67.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.57.

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, 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.