Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Lowers Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,232 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,770 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $3,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its position in Wintrust Financial by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the bank’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,307,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Gitterman Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is currently 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 Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,858 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.30, for a total value of $418,321.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 48,814 shares in the company, valued at $6,409,278.20. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.47% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTFC opened at $112.12 on Monday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $91.38 and a 1-year high of $142.04. The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.16. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.41.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 6th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WTFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective (up from $135.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wintrust Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.