Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New $411,000 Investment in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,296 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTFC. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 16.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 47,788 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,186,000 after purchasing an additional 6,880 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 6.9% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,094,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 36,366.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 6.2% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 46,467 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Wintrust Financial by 6.3% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 139,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,129,000 after purchasing an additional 8,287 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In related news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total transaction of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total transaction of $553,209.03. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,088,465.14. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC opened at $113.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.16. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $91.38 and a 1 year high of $142.04.

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

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is presently 19.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Wintrust Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.