Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Acquires 170 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,525 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $94,906,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 261.4% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 698,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $87,126,000 after purchasing an additional 505,293 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $40,562,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 865,409 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $107,925,000 after purchasing an additional 253,050 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,308,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $141,981,000 after purchasing an additional 133,311 shares in the last quarter. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $102.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.94. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.73.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.87 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is 19.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTFC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Wintrust Financial from $155.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Wintrust Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 4,213 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.31, for a total value of $553,209.03. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 206,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,088,465.14. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.32, for a total value of $310,309.16. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,178 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,315. 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Wintrust Financial

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.