Siena Capital Partners GP LLC Sells 23,980 Shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC

Siena Capital Partners GP LLC trimmed its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 49.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,284 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 23,980 shares during the quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WTFC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,300,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,204,000 after acquiring an additional 75,155 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Wintrust Financial by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,229,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $152,478,000 after purchasing an additional 101,134 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,020,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,176,000 after purchasing an additional 83,826 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Wintrust Financial by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 726,222 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,037,000 after purchasing an additional 27,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $87,418,000. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of WTFC stock opened at $144.06 on Friday. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $89.10 and a fifty-two week high of $162.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $148.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.88.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 19.48%.The business had revenue of $714.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 5th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This is an increase from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 19.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $176.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Wintrust Financial from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.31.

Insider Activity at Wintrust Financial

In other news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $480,650.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,725,456.45. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO David L. Stoehr sold 2,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.16, for a total value of $365,253.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,724,130.08. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.01% of the company’s stock.

About Wintrust Financial

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.