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 December 19th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Wells Fargo & Company stock on December 1st.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of WFC stock opened at $93.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.11. Wells Fargo & Company has a 52-week low of $58.42 and a 52-week high of $94.26.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.18. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 17.18%.The business had revenue of $21.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Wells Fargo & Company’s payout ratio is 29.61%.

Institutional Trading of Wells Fargo & Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 2,735,254.3% in the 2nd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 949,769,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,095,550,000 after buying an additional 949,735,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Wells Fargo & Company by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 302,092,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,203,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,222 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the second quarter valued at $3,990,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Wells Fargo & Company by 18.6% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 35,660,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,104,000 after purchasing an additional 5,584,930 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,009,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,760,994,000 after purchasing an additional 399,088 shares during the last quarter. 75.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wells Fargo & Company News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on WFC to $101, signaling analyst confidence in earnings/valuation upside. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) Price Target to $101.00
• Positive Sentiment: WSJ reports Wells Fargo’s investment banking franchise is having a best-ever year, boosting fee pipeline and potential higher non-interest income. Strong deal flow is a positive revenue catalyst. Wells Fargo’s Investment Bankers Are Having Their Best Year Ever
• Positive Sentiment: Ares Commercial expanded a Wells Fargo repurchase lending facility, which could generate incremental lending activity and fee revenue tied to repo operations. Ares Commercial Expands Wells Fargo Repurchase Lending Facility
• Neutral Sentiment: Senator Mitch McConnell disclosed a purchase of WFC shares in a STOCK Act filing — notable for optics and retail attention but not a direct company operational signal. Congress Trade: Senator Mitch McConnell Just Disclosed New Stock Trades
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated investor attention and options activity point to higher short-term volatility and positioning; useful to monitor flows but ambiguous for direction. Investors Heavily Search Wells Fargo & Company (WFC): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Benzinga pieces on short interest and options trading provide detail on bearish positioning and derivatives flows—important for traders but not definitive on fundamentals. Looking Into Wells Fargo & Co’s Recent Short Interest Unpacking the Latest Options Trading Trends in Wells Fargo
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo disclosed an SEC investigation into its cash sweeps option—this is the most material near-term risk cited today because regulatory findings could lead to fines, remediation costs, or reputational damage. Wells Fargo discloses an SEC investigation into cash sweeps option
• Negative Sentiment: Market-note: a recent Zacks story highlights a modest intraday price drop and short-term weakness despite broader market gains, underscoring near-term volatility. Wells Fargo (WFC) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WFC shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Wells Fargo & Company from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Company to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.04.

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.