Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,992,906 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,833 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $263,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Wintrust Financial during the first quarter worth $27,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the third quarter valued at $27,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Wintrust Financial during the second quarter valued at $41,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wintrust Financial during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial by 75.3% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 93.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wintrust Financial Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Wintrust Financial stock opened at $138.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $89.10 and a 1-year high of $162.96. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $148.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.79. The company has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.85.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The bank reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 5th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 5th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Wintrust Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Wintrust Financial’s payout ratio is currently 19.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTFC has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $167.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $161.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Wintrust Financial from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.31.

Insider Activity

In other Wintrust Financial news, insider Richard B. Murphy sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.05, for a total transaction of $480,650.55. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,725,456.45. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider David Eric Lee sold 558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.42, for a total transaction of $82,260.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,371,250.70. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,662 shares of company stock worth $1,705,730 in the last 90 days. 1.01% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wintrust Financial 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.