Premier Fund Managers Ltd Raises Stock Position in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 404,829 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,653 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial accounts for 1.8% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.61% of Wintrust Financial worth $50,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $94,906,000. FMR LLC grew its position in 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. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $87,126,000 after acquiring an additional 505,293 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,562,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Wintrust Financial by 36.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 802,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,132,000 after acquiring an additional 213,559 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of WTFC opened at $113.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $91.38 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.10.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $1.87 EPS. Analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of Wintrust Financial 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,752.56. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey D. Hahnfeld sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.95, for a total transaction of $54,475.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $298,042.20. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,178 shares of company stock worth $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WTFC shares. Barclays increased their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.