Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 9.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 220,008 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,171 shares during the quarter. Wintrust Financial comprises about 0.6% of Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $29,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,418,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 417.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 506,766 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,116,000 after purchasing an additional 408,925 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $44,085,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter worth $15,002,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,940,000 after purchasing an additional 102,833 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Wintrust Financial from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $176.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Wintrust Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.31.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTFC traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $130.76. The stock had a trading volume of 48,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,355. The firm has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.85. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.07 and a 200-day moving average of $138.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.85 million. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation 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 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.30%.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider David Eric Lee sold 558 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.42, for a total transaction of $82,260.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,371,250.70. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen M. Boege sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.38, for a total value of $731,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,349,613.54. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation is a Chicago‐area bank holding company headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. Through its primary subsidiary, Wintrust Bank, the company operates a network of community banks serving metropolitan Chicago and select markets in southeastern Wisconsin. These locally branded banks provide personalized commercial and consumer banking solutions tailored to small and mid‐size businesses, professionals, and individual clients.

The firm’s core offerings include deposit products, commercial and residential lending, treasury management, and mortgage banking services.