AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,561 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Wintrust Financial worth $12,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Wintrust Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Wintrust Financial by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 539 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 677 shares of the bank's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.48% of the company's stock.

Wintrust Financial Stock Performance

Wintrust Financial stock opened at $115.16 on Tuesday. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $89.10 and a 52 week high of $142.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.30 and a 200-day moving average of $121.79.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The bank reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $643.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $643.11 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 12.60%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WTFC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $152.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Wintrust Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Wintrust Financial from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.54.

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.

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