Vestor Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Vestor Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,051 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $2,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 14.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,153,999 shares of the bank’s stock worth $559,364,000 after buying an additional 637,072 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,627,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,169,000 after buying an additional 126,724 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 11.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $141,981,000 after purchasing an additional 133,311 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 8.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,155,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,464,000 after purchasing an additional 92,995 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 36.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,132,000 after purchasing an additional 213,559 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

WTFC opened at $113.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. Wintrust Financial Co. has a one year low of $91.38 and a one year high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.16.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.11. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Insider Transactions at Wintrust Financial

In related news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total transaction of $418,321.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,409,278.20. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. This trade represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upgraded Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.69.

Wintrust Financial Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services.